Strong April sales help managed pubs outperform restaurants

Compared to April last year, like-for-like sales across the sector were up 4.4% nationally last month, while restaurant chains grew by just 1.5%.

Peter Martin, vice-president of CGA Peach, which produces the tracker, said: “[The strong performance of managed pubs] can be put down in part to the drier weather this year, with branded restaurants in London having a particularly tough April.

“But, we have also seen restaurant performance generally slipping behind the pub sector in recent months.”

Underlying growth​

Martin said that although trading over the Easter weekend was not as good this year compared to the four-day holiday in 2016, down 3.8%, the boost that the break provided to the hospitality sector can still be seen in April’s trading growth.

“Taken together the two months’ numbers show there is still underlying growth in the sector, and especially among pub groups,” he added.