Enterprise Inns, Britain’s second largest pub company, has spent £3.5m providing rent reductions and discounts for licensees struggling in the current climate.
At the same time beer sales at the pub owner have declined and Enterprise said that consumer confidence was currently low, given the rising cost of food, fuel, mortgages and taxes.
Enterprise predicts double digit volume falls in beer sales for the three months from April to June, although food sales are reported to be growing, albeit slowly.
But Enterprise Inns chief executive Ted Tuppen said: “The majority of our licensees are coping well with the current consumer downturn.
“Where appropriate, we have the resources to help licensees who are experiencing short-term trading difficulties, thereby demonstrating an essential strength of the leased and tenanted pub model.”
The company has bought 51 pubs for £44m in the past nine months while investing £60m in improving its estate and selling 45 pubs for £25m.
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By Christopher Walton
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