Off licences rather than pubs and clubs are benefiting most from the longer licensing hours introduced last Thursday in England and Wales, according to market analyst Datamonitor.

Datamonitor’s Storm in a Pint Glass report found only 359 pubs, bars and clubs had applied for 24-hour licences, due, in part, to the increased administration and operating costs.

The findings lay bare the sensationalism surrounding 24-hour opening at pubs, which had been reported in the media as a drinks industry plot that would exacerbate binge drinking.

With consumers buying more and more of their drinks through the off-trade - often choosing to take their nightcap back at home - the report predicts the liberalisation of the drinking laws will simply encourage this long-established trend.

John Band, senior drinks analyst at Datamonitor, said closing time simply wasn’t a major influencing factor for consumers, who instead were switching increasingly to off-trade over on-trade sales because of the “lower prices and greater comfort of drinking at home”. 

“Rather than turning Britain into a nation of alcoholics the effect of the new laws will be marginal for all concerned, and the net effect on total alcohol consumption will be even more so,” he added.

By Naomi Leach

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