Sunny weather and Euros deliver extended happy hour for Britain’s pubs
An industry body has said that the Euros may be over, but this weekend’s sunny weather has meant the feel-good factor in London has endured.
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) estimated that the mini-heatwave that swept across the country on Friday and Saturday will have resulted in over 7.5m additional pints being pulled in just 72 hours.
The weekend of bumper beer sales comes just a week after the England football team gave the UK’s pubs another windfall. The day of the Euros final was found to have been the booziest Sunday of the year at Britain’s public houses.
Emma McLarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, said: “It looks like summer finally arrived this weekend, with the warmer weather and sun meaning we saw up to a 20 per cent increase in beer sales in pubs, which would mean 7.5m extra pints worth £36m to the beer and pub sector.
“This follows a larger than expected surge in beer sales last weekend for England’s Euros final where indicative figures from [food and beverage research agency] CGA suggest that almost 12m extra pints were enjoyed by football fans, worth £55m to brewers and pubs, several million more pints than had been predicted.”
Kate Nicholls, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, told City PM: “The warm weather over the weekend will have provided a welcome boost for pubs and other hospitality venues, with people keen to get out and about to make the most of the sunshine.
“Businesses across the sector will be hoping that this continues, and we see a strong rest of the summer summer, to offset the impact of the ever-rising cost burden that they are facing.”