Wet weather slows growth at Spirit pubs

The owner of the Chef & Brewer and Fayre & Square pub chains yesterday warned that trading had been slow over the spring due to the wet weather.

Spirit Pub Company – which operates 1,300 outlets following its de-merger from Punch Taverns last summer – said like-for-like sales at its managed estate grew by 3.7 per cent in the 12 weeks to 26 May, in a slowdown on the 5.6 per cent in the previous six months.

The company – whose pubs north of the Border include Milnes Bar in Edinburgh and the White Cart in Clarkston, Glasgow – claimed it had outperformed its rivals during the spring and said that it will delay refurbishing its pubs until after the summer as it tries to cash in on the Olympic Games and the Euro 2012 championships.