Peter Martin of CGA Peach, which produces the tracker of 27 pub and restaurant chains with Coffer Group, Baker Tilly and UBS, said fine weather in August coupled with the effect of last year's London Olympics were the main factors behind the boost.
“The hot weather continued to help sales in pubs in particular during August, as it did in July, but the Olympics effect was different," he said. "Last year, London’s eating and drinking-out market suffered a lull in the run-up to the Games, while outside of the capital saw flat sales during the August event, in contrast to London’s sales boost. So this year, London enjoyed a bounce-back in July, while the rest of the country saw its recovery come last month,"
Outside London
Businesses outside London experienced the biggest sales growth, with an average of 2.4 per cent like-for-likes compared to last year. For businesses inside the M25 growth was a more modest 0.7 per cent.
Pubs were the biggest benefactors, however, said Martin.
“Within those figures, pub groups recorded like-for-likes up 2.5 per cent, with almost equally strong trading both inside and outside London, while casual dining restaurant groups saw just 0.3% growth,” he said.
Although pubs were busier than restaurants, it wasn't the drinks consumers were visiting for. Food sales were four times higher in pubs than drinks growth in August, Martin said, a fact mirrored in the Wine & Spirit Trade Association's latest Market Report which showed that on-trade drinks sales fell six per cent in three months.
Healthy growth
David Coffer, chairman of the Coffer Group, said it was encouraging to see positive trading extending out from London to the rest of the country and despite the arrival of autumn 'healthy growth' was expected to continue.
“To see like-for-likes outside of London outstripping those within the M25 is extremely encouraging," said Coffer. "While the figures may still be warped by the effect of the Olympics, they would suggests that the positivity we have already seen emerging in the capital is now filtering out to the rest of the country. This may, however, be in part due to the increased number of families opting for a ‘staycation’ holiday and it will be interesting to see whether the trend continues as we move into the autumn.”
Jarrod Castle, leisure analyst at UBS European Leisure Research, added: “This is the joint highest LFL growth figure since February. This strong performance is likely driven by the warm weather, evidenced by the stronger growth of pubs compared to casual dining restaurants. There were tough comps in London due to Olympics, but LFL growth was still positive.
“We expect to see healthy growth continue next month, given the easy comps and the momentum that has been building over the summer. Improving consumer confidence data increases the positive outlook for H2.”