On-trade beer sales down 1%

Overall beer sales in the second quarter of 2018 were up 3.6% on the same period in 2017, but on-trade sales fell 1%.

The latest Beer Barometer sales data from the British Beer & Pub Association shows a 7.7% year-on-year increase in off-trade sales in Q2 2018.

Despite the decline, on-trade sales have improved from the situation overt the last 10 years, where the average fall in on-trade beer sales has been 3.7%.

BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds, said: “It’s certainly good to see that beer sales are doing better overall. There is a very real threat however that the Chancellor will increase beer tax again in the Budget later this year, which would be a huge backward step after so much progress has been made since he froze beer duty last year. We need further cuts in beer tax to help pubs and the great British brewing manufacturing industry.”

David Cunningham, Programme Director of Britain’s Beer Alliance, which is behind the “Long Live The Local” campaign, said:

“The ‘Long Live The Local’ campaign celebrates the vital role pubs play in people’s lives and their communities. It also highlights the range of tax pressures that pubs face and encourages pub goers to go to their local and call on politicians to cut beer tax.

“Pubs face an unprecedented range of tax pressures including beer duty, which means that £1 in every £3 spent in a pub goes to the taxman. This clearly is a factor behind declining beer sales in pubs, pub closures and job losses.”