Pub beer sales to be ‘down 90% on normal December levels’ due to ‘devastating’ tiers, BBPA reveals

In the latest sign of the pandemic hit to hospitality at what is usually the busiest time of the year, the British Beer & Pub Association said on Monday that its research suggests pub beer sales will be up to 90% down on normal December levels.

This would mean publicans served around 270 million fewer pints than in the lead-up to Christmas in 2019.

The trade association said the findings demonstrate the “devastation” wreaked by strict tier restrictions in place across huge swathes of the country.

The stark findings come from BBPA analysis of its beer volume survey, conducted every month for 20 years.  

It revealed that typically during the month of December, including Christmas, pubs sell almost 300 million pints of beer.  

However, this December, based on data gathered so far under the new tighter tier systems, where pubs remaining open under Tier 2 may only serve alcohol with a substantial meal, the BPPA forecasts as few as 30 million pints of beer will be sold in pubs this month, including over the festive period.  

BBPA boss Emma McClarkin warned that the “stark numbers show that this Christmas could be the last for many of our pubs”.

“With trade up to 90% lower than usual, many pubs simply won't survive without Government either easing the restrictions or providing more support for pubs and brewers,” she said.  “These 270 million lost pints reflect 270 million lost opportunities for friends, families and communities to be together enjoying their local pub this Christmas.”

Chief executive of trade body UKHospitality, Kate Nicholls, recently told a Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee that most hospitality businesses usually earn around 40% of revenues between Halloween and New Year’s Eve.