A thaw in the weather in late spring gave Spirit Pub drinkers their thirst back, but they didn’t sup enough to overcome the impact of a chilly April.
The group, which has 800 managed pubs, and whose brands include Chef & Brewer, Wacky Warehouse and Flaming Grill, said cash through the managed pubs’ tills fell 3.8% in the six weeks to 13 April. But then the emergence of a long-forgotten yellow disc in the sky, including over the first May bank holiday, saw sales rise 2.6% in the final six weeks of the third quarter.
Burgers and other food sales were more resilient to the weather, falling just 0.3% in the first six weeks and then increasing 4.4% in the latter six. Business at Spirit’s 400 leased pubs, which are run by pub keepers who pay the company rent and are supplied with its beer, followed a similar pattern. Turnover dropped 4% in the first eight weeks of the quarter before climbing 1.2% in the final four weeks.
Shares in Spirit, which was split from Punch Taverns in 2011, today dropped 1.5p, or a little over 2%, to 66.5p.
