BBPA says Government must now invest in pubs to support their recovery from July 19th
The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has predicted that England fans will buy 6.8 million pints on Wednesday 7th July during the match when the Three Lions take on Denmark in their semi-final game of UEFA Euro 2020.
This is more than during England’s quarter-final match against Ukraine, as the feel good factor continues to spread amongst fans of the Three Lions with the squad progressing through the tournament.
Overall on Wednesday 7th July, the day on which the England vs Denmark game is played, the BBPA believes that 9.7 million pints could be sold – with 6.8 million of those being bought during the match itself.
However, if restrictions had been lifted already it predicts this would have been nearer 12 million pints, showing the huge impact restrictions have had on the viability of the sector.
Because of the restrictions, the BBPA believes 1.7 million less pints will be sold during the match than if they had already been removed, costing pubs £6.5 million.
With the Government announcing that if the lifting of restrictions goes ahead on July 19th, all restrictions on pubs would be removed, the BBPA is now urging the Government to invest in pubs so they can truly begin their recovery.
To fully recover and lead the economic bounce back from lockdown as the UK builds back better, the trade association is supporting and promoting the newly launched Long Live The Local campaign.
In recent research undertaken by the campaign they found that men said watching their sports team on TV was their favourite moment in a pub with all pub goers ranking it in their top three favourite moments along with taking part in a pub quiz and watching a band.
The campaign is urging the Government to invest in the sector so it can drive the economic recovery by reforming VAT, beer duty and business rates, reducing the unfair tax burden pubs and breweries face.
Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said:
“With England fans’ support, we hope that pubs will sell 6.8 million pints during the semi-final match.
“If the team goes on to win, a final at Wembley awaits, which would be a huge boost to our pubs and the nation. Come on England!
“After a long wait, the pubs we love should be restriction free from July 19th. Only when the restrictions are removed can our pubs recover, but to do so they need Government investment to build back better.
“We are backing the Long Live The Local campaign which celebrates our pubs but will urge the Government to invest in their recovery. We are calling for reform of VAT, beer duty and business rates on pubs and breweries which will help build stronger communities, jobs, investments and a thriving British beer and pub sector we can be proud of.”
