The Chancellor will be saying ‘cheers’ to the Great British pub this week, with pubs estimated to have given a £70m windfall to the Treasury from successful trading over the royal wedding weekend.
As the licensing hours for Friday 18 May and Saturday 19 May has been extended by two hours from 11pm to 1am for the royal wedding, along with the FA Cup final taking place on Saturday evening, an extra £20m was expected to have been spent in pubs across the nation on ‘Super Saturday’ alone.
Beer and food are believed to have benefited most from the bumper weekend, with food sales predicted to have increased by 8% - generating £16m for the Treasury through VAT - and beer sales predicted to have increased by 5%, resulting in over 100 million pints being poured over the weekend, generating £54m for the taxman through duty and VAT.
BBPA Chief Executive Brigid Simmonds OBE commented, “The royal wedding was a fantastic spectacle with the Great British pub providing the perfect place for the nation to celebrate. The relaxed licensing hours were welcomed by pubgoers looking to make the most of the historic occasion, whilst providing a real boost to the pub trade. Given that a third of the price of a pint in a pub goes straight to the taxman, the Chancellor will also be celebrating.”
Daniel Park, General Manager of The Duchess of Cambridge, Windsor, commented, The royal wedding was an exceptional event with both tourists and locals alike coming to enjoy the occasion in our pub. Thanks to the extended hours and good weather it was also a record breaking day of sales for us. In the six years I’ve run the pub I’ve never known it be so busy!”
Lucy Longworth, General Manager of The Lifeboat Inn, St Ives, commented, “We had a really good turnout for Meghan and Harry’s wedding, with tables full throughout the day. We showed the wedding from 10am, followed by football at 5pm and then had a band to celebrate the wedding from 9pm. Many people stayed on for all three events which was great. Our bar sales increased by 50% on the previous Saturday.”
