Pub groups’ like-for-like sales were 4.7% ahead of December 2023, data from the latest CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker shows, buoyed by a ‘late festive surge’ in the run-up to Christmas and the New Year.
Bars, meanwhile, bounced back from soft trading throughout most of 2024 to post growth of 1.3%.
Overall, Britain’s leading restaurant, pub and bar groups achieved ‘solid’ year-on-year sales growth of 3.2% over the month.
The like-for-like figure is the Tracker’s highest point since May and is just above Britain’s general rate of inflation.
“Real-terms sales growth as a whole is encouraging but with performance varying quite significantly across the sector, it is unlikely to be enough to increase business confidence heading into a challenging year,” remarks Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality.
Total sales growth was higher at 5.2%, reflecting a steady stream of new managed restaurant, pub and bar openings over the last 12 months.
“December’s results cap off a lacklustre year for the hospitality industry, with average like-for-like revenues tracking below inflation for most of 2024 despite an encouraging festive trading period,” says Saxon Moseley, head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK
“This recent uptick in trade alongside a forecast improvement in consumer confidence should give operators hope that 2025 will be a stronger year.”
The Tracker also shows that December trading in London comfortably outpaced the rest of the country.
Managed groups’ sales inside the M25 were up by 4.6% year-on-year, while venues further afield rose 2.8%.