Mike Tye, chief executive of Spirit Pub Company, today reported “tentative signs of a consumer recovery” at many of its 1200 pubs.
Sales in its 800 or so managed pubs were up 4.8% in the six months to March 1, but then up by 8.3% in the next four weeks.
Tye said: “Part of that is the better weather, part is us taking market share from rivals — but some of it is the improving economy. Petrol, groceries and utility bills are all better value than they were 12 to 18 months ago and that comes through to people’s spending.”
He also believes an upturn in large capital projects is feeding through: “When those kind of projects start, you can see it because construction workers tend to spend across our counters pretty much immediately.”
First-half pre-tax profits rose 11% to £22 million. The dividend goes up 6% to 0.72p a share.
