UK pubs experienced the largest growth out of all hospitality venues in April but bars are still struggling to recover to 2022 levels.
Sunny weather was one factor that saw British pubs achieve like-for-like sales growth 8% greater than the year before, according to research from the CGA.
However, there wasn’t much sunshine for bar owners.
Sales in these venues remained 9.1% behind the year prior – the only hospitality venue to still lag 2022 numbers.
In total, all hospitality venues saw sales jump 6.9% year-on-year, as the Easter weekend and the start of the May bank holiday inspired punters to rest and relax in the warm weather.
“Consumers clearly remain eager to eat and drink out, and we can be optimistic that their spending will increase when household bills start to ease,” said Karl Chessell, director at CGA.
London had an especially strong April; the month was free from any rail strikes and this helped push sales 10.4% ahead of 2022 figures.
“It’s particularly pleasing to see the sustained recovery in London, where COVID restrictions took a heavy toll on hospitality,” Chessell added.
The restaurant sector also performed well, rising by 7.6% annually.
However, sales growth continues to be driven by inflation and price hikes, something Mark Sheehan, the managing director at Coffer Corporate Leisure, thinks is cause for concern.
“Operators need sales to at least keep up with costs and for volumes to increase. Whilst numbers continue to improve, we are not yet seeing this,” Sheehan said.
With May bringing with it the Coronation bank holiday, plus two other long weekends, hospitality groups across the UK will be hoping that this month's sales can finally start outperforming inflation.