By Simon Zekaria
LONDON--Trading for pubs and restaurants across the U.K.
improved in June, boosted by the Queen's Jubilee bank holiday and
the European soccer championships, even as poor weather weighed, a
study issued Wednesday showed.
The Coffer Peach Business Tracker reported that comparable sales
rose 1.3% in June from the same month last year, following May's
2.6% increase. Total sales, which include new openings, rose
5%.
The tracker monitors trends in the eating and drinking-out
market by collecting monthly performance data from 25 companies,
including Whitbread PLC (WTB.LN), Mitchells & Butlers PLC
(MAB.LN), Spirit Pub Co. PLC (SPRT.LN) and Marston's PLC
(MARS.LN).
Still, analyst Peter Martin of Peach Factory, a market
intelligence group that produces the report in partnership with UBS
AG (UBS) and investment advisory service The Coffer Group, said the
results were mixed across different sectors.
"While drink-led pubs saw a healthy jump in like-for-likes,
casual restaurant chains suffered a corresponding fall against June
last year," Mr. Martin said.
Jonathan Leinster, head of UBS European leisure research, said
the numbers show consumers are looking more at value, which is a
trend that is hurting branded restaurants.
The effect of the Olympic Games in London is also hard to gauge,
Mr. Leinster added.
"The dominant impact in July will be whether the Olympics has a
significant impact, which remains an unknown."
Economists and businesses also remain concerned that economic
weakness, fuel costs, below-inflation pay rises and unemployment
are crimping consumer spending.
Panmure Gordon analyst Simon French said: "We note that fuel
prices are starting to rise again, despite the postponement of the
fuel duty increase until January 2013. All these moving parts are
making it increasingly difficult to identify underlying trading
patterns."
Write to Simon Zekaria at simon.zekaria@dowjones.com
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