Beer duty cut boosts pub spending

Research by Barclaycard has found that spending in pubs on credit and debit cards following the cut has been boosted by 4% since March.

The chancellor’s Budget in March saw the beer duty escalator removed and replaced by a 1p cut in duty.

The research by Barclaycard looked at spending in pubs in the two weeks preceding the cut and the two weeks following the cut. After taking into account the effect of usual seasonal fluctuations in pub spending as the weather improves, Barclaycard found the duty cut had delivered a 4% boost to pubs in the UK.

A Barclaycard spokesperson said: “This modest increase in pub spending will be a welcome sign for an industry that has faced many challenges over recent years”.

While the trend across the UK was positive, some regions saw growth significantly above the average with Wales seeing an increase of 11.8%, the North East by 6.9% and the East Midlands by 5.4%.

But it was not good news for all regions as London and Scotland both saw pub spending fall with decreases of 2.1% and 3.5% respectively.

The news is a boost for pubs, after it was reported earlier this week that the first quarter of this year saw beer sales fall by 50 million pints.