Jubilee weekend 'disappointing' for majority of operators
The poll revealed 130 of the 173 respondents did not see an uplift in sales across the extended bank holiday with just 2% (3) having seen an increase of more than 100%.
The Bath Pub Company managing director Joe Cussens said: “The Jubilee weekend didn’t provide the sales boost many predicted. It was pretty disappointing.
“[The weather] was pretty poor in Bath meaning our garden spaces were unused for most of the weekend. We only had our outside bars open for the Thursday, the rest of the time they were closed due to unsettled and plain cold weather.
“By way of comparison, we had a week at the end of March where we had glorious weather and sales that week were as good as the double bank holiday Jubilee weekend in June.
Unique celebration
“Good weather is essential for a strong summer season trading, and if you don’t have a strong summer season, you’re short of cash reserves going into the winter; cash in the bank is going to be more important than ever this year.”
This comes as data from CGA last week confirmed the Jubilee did not provide the boost the sector had been expecting as last month’s Barclaycard SME Barometer predicted a £76m increase in trade with 49% of operators expected to have seen a rise in sales.
However, some operators stated they had seen positive trade over the celebratory weekend, with the MA’s poll showing 1% (2) of respondents had seen a 75% uplift while 2% (3) saw up to 100% with 9% (15) and 4% (7) having seen a boost of 25% and 50% respectively.
Licensee of the Unruly Pig in Bromeswell, Suffolk, Brendan Padfield explained the pub had seen “very high footfall” but warned dark clouds were gathering as consumers and businesses alike suffer under the cost-of-living crisis.
He said: “I expected us to be flat out as the Jubilee weekend was a unique celebration for the UK.
Welcome respite
“There aren’t many weekends where most of the country gets four days off in succession without having to use up holiday leave, there was therefore great staycation traffic in Suffolk, thank goodness.
“Comparisons with previous years are not straightforward because of the variable VAT rates we saw in 2020 and 2021 but like for like, [it was] probably one of the best weeks ever.
“It was welcome respite from what otherwise appears to be gathering clouds.
“The inflationary headlines just seem to get worse every day, the average £100 cost of filling a petrol tank alone is bound to decrease discretionary spend yet further and that’s before we get to household energy bills and the pending autumn price cap rise for domestic consumers.”
