Enterprise Inns reveals the Olympics are not having any material impact on trading

08-Aug-2012 - Last updated on 09-Aug-2012 at 12:42 GMT

Enterprise Inns has reported 'improving trading trends' and has said the recent poor weather has had a bigger impact on trade than any Olympics effect

Enterprise Inns has reported continued 'improving trading trends' but has declared the poor summer weather has affected its publicans and has had a bigger effect than the Olympics which has not yet materially impacted pub performance.

Releasing its interim management statement for the 44 weeks to 4 August, the Solihull-based operator revealed like-for-like income per pub in its substantive estate was up 1.6 per cent. This part of the portfolio accounts for more than 90 per cent of the total income for the business.

Although like-for-like income across the board dropped 1.2 per cent Enterprise Inns said the fall had been larger in the first half of the year and was an improvement on the same period a year ago when income shrank by 5.1 per cent.

Challenging

Although pub performance has increased since the first half of the year the business described trading in the 18-week period since as 'interesting and challenging'.

"The Jubilee celebrations in June provided a welcome boost to publicans in a similar fashion to the Royal Wedding in April last year. The UEFA European championship in June also provided some assistance but was significantly outweighed by the dampening effect from the record breaking rainfall," Enterprise Inns said.

Olympic impact

The company, formed in 1991, even went so far as to say the poor weather had a bigger impact on its pubs than the London 2012 Olympics which it said was 'not materially impacting trading performance' at all.

Although the Ted Tuppen-led company said continued success of Team GB in the Olympic Park could help British community pubs away from Stratford, the pubco appears to be bucking a trend of publicans who have said the Games have boosted trade so far.

Last week BigHospitality reported a number of pub and bar operators had said they were 'extremely busy' as a result of the Olympics while Brigid Simmons, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said there had been no complaints or concerns from its numbers.

Disposal

Enterprise Inns is currently working to dispose of a number of pubs in its estate to help reduce bank cash borrowings.

In this latest statement the company revealed it had sold 121 'unsustainable' pubs this financial year as well as selling 26 'exceptional properties' and completing a sale and leaseback package for 17 more.

Total proceeds from disposals, including to Fuller's and Brakspear, now tops £148m this year.