Christmas trade brought some relief to Scottish pubs hit by drink driving law changes but only a third expect to grow in 2016 down to 16% in rural areas.
The latest on-trade market insight report by the Scottish Licensed Trade Association showed 39% of businesses reported growth in the calendar year 2015. This was up from 25% showing growth when the SLTA carried out its survey in the summer.
The report, which is based on a survey of 600 outlets, showed 42% reporting year on year Christmas and New Year growth and 23% indicating a stable performance. However in rural locations 40% reported a decline over the festive period.
Outlets serving food performed significantly better than drink-led venues with the latter showing 53% growth over the holidays. The survey shows 28% of outlets saw beer sales rise over the year with 55% seeing a boost during Christmas. The figures for spirits were 34% and 63% respectively.
Of those polled, 67% said the biggest issue facing them was Government legislation while 50% said increasing sales was their greatest financial challenge.
Paul Waterson, chief executive of the SLTA, said: “Whilst we see some encouraging signs as licensees adapt to new consumer trends and new government legislation, our big concern is the performance of pubs and bars serving rural locations.
“Many village pubs are integral to the communities they serve and a key driver for Scottish tourism. The declines shown in our survey, will inevitably lead to further closures and a negative impact on jobs and amenities in rural areas. The impact of recent drink driving legislation and the potential impact of living wage legislation will make trading in these areas even more challenging for retailers.”
Waterson stressed that there were reasons to be cheerful for the sector, with the popularity of craft beer still to be exploited by more than 30% of those polled.
He added: “Similarly in soft drinks, where we are seeing anecdotal evidence of a growth in non-alcoholic cocktails. As responsible drinking is firmly on our agenda, we will be working with our members to help them develop their ranges of soft drinks, non-alcohol beers and wines and non-alcoholic cocktails.’’
