54 Thursday November 11 2021 | the times
Business
5
Older drinkers are returning to pubs
more slowly than younger customers
amid continuing caution over Covid-
19, according to JD Wetherspoon.
In a first-quarter trading update, the
company said that in the past 15 weeks
there had been a big fall in sales of
drinks often consumed by older cus-
tomers. Draught products, in parti-
cular, declined, with sales of traditional
ales down by 30 per cent on the same
15-week period in 2019, while stout was
down by 20 per cent.
Drinks usually favoured by younger
patrons rose, however, with cocktails
up by 45 per cent, vodka by 17 per cent
higher and rum by 26 per cent. In addi-
tion, the company said that its 46
Lloyds bars, which have music at week-
ends, had returned to pre-Covid levels
— up 0.5 per cent on 2019 trading —
“probably reflecting a higher percent-
age of younger customers”.
The Lloyds’ performance was well
ahead of the wider Wetherspoon estate,
which remained below 2019 levels.
Like-for-like sales in the 15-week period
were 8.9 per cent lower than the record
numbers achieved two years ago, with
bar sales down by 9.6 per cent and food
down by 8.1 per cent, although that was
an improvement on the 17.8 per cent
decline in the previous ten weeks to
July 25.
“A material proportion of our trade
comes from older customers, some of
ALAMYLack of stock
hits number
of home sales
Times Business ReporterA growth in inquiries from house-
hunters in October is yet to translate
into a pick-up in sales, surveyors say.
Despite a net balance of 10 per cent of
property professionals reporting an
increase in new buyer inquiries, estate
agents have only 37 properties on their
books on average, down from about 42
in March, the Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors said.
A balance of 20 per cent of contribu-
tors reported a fall in the number of
new properties being listed for sale.
Property professionals noted a dip in
the number of sales agreed, with the
main issue being a lack of stock.
A lack of choice is not only affecting
sales but also is a significant factor be-
hind house price rises, the report added.
In October, a net balance of 70 per cent
cited a rise in house prices, with vir-
tually all parts of Britain experiencing
sharply increasing property values.
A third of professionals noted an in-
crease in demand for energy-efficient
homes over the past year, but 54 per
cent said a property’s efficiency rating
had “very little impact” on its selling
price and 23 per cent believed that the
rating had no impact at all.
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist
of the institution, said: “As long as there
is a lack of choice for would-be buyers,
it is clear that buyers’ ambition to be
more climate-friendly will have to
move down their list of priorities.”Bitter? Wetherspoon
misses older patrons
whom have visited pubs less frequently
in recent times,” Tim Martin, 66, the
Wetherspoon chairman and founder,
said. Some patrons remained “under-
standably cautious” and the pace of
improvement in trading would depend
to some extent on the outlook for the
coronavirus.
Shares of Wetherspoon fell by 97p, or
9.5 per cent, to 929½p, although Martin
added that “booster vaccinations and
better weather in the spring are likely to
have a positive impact”. He played
down the impact of supply chain and
staff shortage issues. Problems with
supplies had been limited to “a minority
of items” and these had eased. Martin
said that there had been a “reasonable”
level of job applications.
JD Wetherspoon, which was founded
in 1979, sells reasonably priced ales,
breakfasts, lunches and dinners. It had
44 pubs in 1992 at its flotation and today
has about 860 pubs in the UK and Ire-
land. The number of employees has
risen from almost 37,000 when pubs re-
opened in April to about 42,000.
Tim Barrett, of Numis, said it was
“notable that the sales contraction is
coinciding with the worst cost environ-
ment in five years”. He said that this
week’s cuts to meal prices, lasting until
the end of February, were “partly aimed
at encouraging lapsed customers to
return”. Offers include a breakfast muf-
fin with a hot drink for £2.49, while pub
classics such as fish and chips were
being sold for £3.99 with a soft drink.Dominic Walsh
Most surveyors say energy efficiency ratings have little impact on selling price