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Welcome to 7 Day Cellar's alcohol industry update, where we cover everything you need to know about this week in the alcohol industry. We look at everything, from hospitality company annual results to insights into the economy and seasonal trends - you won't want to miss it.
This week’s alcohol industry update looks at M&B annual figures, Loungers H1 numbers alongside key economic figures for October and November…
Loungers report robust H1 financials, witnessing a 22.3% revenue increase to £149.6 million. like-for-like sales up 7.7% in the 24 weeks to October 1 bringing four year like-for-like sales up 25%. Adjusted EBITDA for the group rose to £23.9 million and Profit Before Tax (PBT) increased to £3.9 million, driven by strong trading in existing and new sites. With eased inflationary pressures, an accelerated new site rollout, and a positive outlook of 7.6% LFL sales growth in Q3, Loungers anticipates continued success in the extended 53-week financial year.
In the latest 12 weeks, hospitality sales grew 8.7% year on year with branded pubs performing the best in the pub sector.
Thatchers have invited judges to taste test their cloudy lemon against competitor ciders like Aldi’s Taurus, amid a trade mark dispute.
Pubs prepare for Christmas, with Butcombe taking over Weston Super Mare’s Foodworks hub commercial kitchen to cook 1,000 Christmas puddings for their pubs.
A recent CGA report discusses how ‘live gigs’ have the potential to deliver up to an additional £100K to managed venues (depending on size and location), overall bringing a £2.4bn boost to UK pubs and bars.
CPI inflation continues to fall, declining to 4.3% in November from 5.2% in October.
Hospitality giant Mitchell & Butlers report their full-year results to the 30th of September, highlighting how like-for-like sales were up 9.1% to £2.5B compared to 2.21B in the previous period. However, there is a decline in operating profit for the year which sat at £221m compared to £240m in 2022 – carrying through to a fall in earnings per share of 13.2% from last year. However, the company expects to restore profitability to pre-pandemic levels in the coming year despite prevailing cost challenges.
UK rail workers accept a pay deal including 5% raises and a redundancy guarantee bringing us one step closer to preventing December train walkouts. The RMT union believes this emphasises that sustained action gets results.
Weather and cost pressures surrounding Christmas meant that the frequency of dining out occasions remained at just 1.4 per week.
Businesses’ confidence about prospects also appears to be improving in light of economic data, with Lloyds Business Barometer reporting that business confidence in London rose to 56% of businesses expecting to see growth in the next year in November vs 50% in October.
