Bank holiday: Pubs predict 21m fewer pints sold and £80m in lost sales
Table service only rules are stifling bar sales, the British Beer and Pub Association has said today, as pubs expect to sell 21m fewer pints than normal over the bank holiday weekend.
Calling for all restrictions to be removed on June 21, the BBPA has said that full trading next month was key to the sectors survival.
The BBPA has forecast an overall loss of around £80m in revenue from pint sales just this bank holiday weekend, a 34 per cent drop in revenue for a normal spring bank holiday weekend.
“That is a huge amount of money and could be the difference between surviving or thriving for thousands of pubs in communities across the country,” BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said.
“We estimate Brits who go and support their local this bank holiday weekend will buy 42m pints. Whilst that is better than being closed with no trade at all, it is 21m pints fewer than normal for the spring bank holiday.”
The strong start to indoor and outdoor trading has failed to outpace current pub restrictions which has seen the number of customers they can serve drop, along with the number of pints sold, the trade association said.
Around 95 per cent of the UK’s 47,000 pubs have reopened since restrictions shut their doors, but restrictions still dictate how they run, as the lack of bar service has riled pub owners.
Over 2,000 pubs have been too small to adhere to the restrictions of six per table and no bar service and have stayed shut since 17 May.
“As more and more people get their vaccine, and if reports continue to suggest that the Indian variant is less prevalent than originally believed, all restrictions must be removed in pubs on June 21 as per the government’s own road map,” McClarkin added.
“Pubs only have a fighting chance of recovering from more than a year of lockdowns and restrictions if they can fully reopen as normal.”