Greene King is the first of the quoted pubcos to report on Christmas trading and the omens are not that good for the sector.
The previous two years were strong enough, so like-for-likes for the Christmas and new year weeks were up by only 2 per cent. Over the past six weeks, though, they were little-changed on the previous year and there are signs that this year has started flat, with customers keeping a tight rein on their spending. Greene King’s own numbers suggest that November brought a sharp fall in consumer spending.
Take the 36 weeks since the start of the financial year on May 1 and like-for-like sales were ahead by only 0.6 per cent, a pedestrian number even if it follows some