Pub and restaurant groups record Easter sales boost as spending thaws

After months of frozen income, the Easter weekend provided a boost for Britain's leading restaurant and pub groups with like for like sales up 7% on last year.

Total sales over the four-day holiday for the likes of Pizza Express and Yo! Sushi were also up 10.4% on last year, according to the Coffer Peach Business Tracker.

Thanks to drier - if colder - weather than last year and the break falling on the start of the school holidays restaurant chains saw like for likes sales grow 9%, while total sales, which includes new sites, were up 14.6%. Pubs experienced a more modest 6.2% boost in sales on 2012, with total sales up 8.8%.

The Peach Factory's Peter Martin said that the weather played a large part in in the improved figures.

He added: "Although this Easter was bitterly cold, it was sunnier and drier than the Easter weekend last year, which was generally wet and miserable. People seemed much happier, if not relieved after last month's snow, to get out and about."

"Last year, Easter was also a week later, from 6-9 April, and came at the end of, and even in some parts of the country after, the school break. For most families, this year it kicked off the holidays."

The Coffer Peach Business Tracker, produced in partnership with Coffer Group, Baker Tilly and UBS, collected sales data from 22 leading restaurant, pub and bar groups including Pizza Express and Byron owner Gondola, Harvester and All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers, Fuller's and Young's.

Paul Newman, co-head of leisure & hospitality at Baker Tilly, said: "The impact of the gale force winds and snow storms in 2012 cannot be understated and we see these strong LFLs as more of a return to the long run average.

"Having one fewer bank holiday to look forward to this year may have also spurred consumers to make the most of their free time during a continuing poor macroeconomic, and meteorological, outlook."

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