Covid-19: Restaurant and pub sales fall 71% in last week of trading

Like-for-like sales in pubs, bars and restaurants nosedived 71% in the week that licensed premises were ordered to close amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Data from the CGA’s Coffer Peach Business Tracker revealed that like-for-like trading in restaurant chains was down 75% that week.

Managed pub sales fell by 67%, while sales at bars tumbled 88% due to their dependence on weekend business. 

Phil Tate, group chief executive at CGA, said: “Many pubs and restaurants, especially away from London, had stayed open even with dwindling trade after prime minister Boris Johnson’s warning at the start of the week for people to avoid going out. 

“The closure order on Friday obviously then killed all business overnight. It was pretty clear that more and more businesses would have shut up shop anyway even without the closure and then lockdown orders, as CGA’s snap consumer poll showed that more and more of the public were going to give up on even attempting to go out.”

The CGA also announced that it will begin tracking takeaway and delivery service sales from next week in light of the news that restaurants and pubs can still provide takeaway services. 

It added that its consumer polling has “already shown that the public’s appetite for delivered food and drink from restaurants and takeaways has grown significantly during the current emergency”.