Morning:
8°c
When the sun shines Londoners are getting to the pub in force, according to the capital's last major brewer, Fuller, Smith & Turner.
Speaking at the beer producer and pub company's annual meeting in the cellars of the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick today, the Fuller's chairman Michael Turner reported a 2.9% increase in like-for-like sales at the pubs and hotels it manages in the 16 weeks up to last weekend.
Beer sales, headed by London Pride — which has become one of the nation's finest pints — but also including Fuller's summer ale Organic Honeydew, are also up with volumes 2% higher.
In the tenanted pubs like-for-like profits were down by 1%, although that compares favourably to the performance of tied pubs in other larger, quoted companies.
“Trading has benefited from the good weather compared to the prior year,” said Turner.
“As the sun has shone, our customers have defied the economic gloom to come out and enjoy themselves.”
Turner warned, however, that the coming months might well get tougher.
“The outlook for the rest of the financial year remains difficult to judge, with so much dependent on the direction of the economy and how the consumer will react to the impending tax rises, the most significant being the increase of VAT on 1 January, 2010,” the Fuller's boss said.
