England take on Panama in their final group match of the World Cup this evening, and hospitality operators are hoping for another good evening in the face of rising costs.
“”Even with the slightly later kick off time [10pm], we’re predicting that pubs across the UK will sell an extra 4.5 million pints, with fans thirsty for a quality match,” said Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association.
“We’re calling on the Government to keep supporting our brilliant pubs, which are the home of live sport, by cutting beer duty to keep pints affordable for all.”
The average pub will serve an additional 100 pints tonight, according to the BBPA’s forecast. This will bring a total revenue boost of £22.5m. England pays 54p per pint in beer duty, while Panama pays 13.8p. The BBPA is calling on government to cut beer duty in line with the European average.
New analysis by money.co.uk suggests this World Cup tournament could generate an estimated £4.2bn revenue uplift for the UK food and drink sector. This is a 9.3% increase compared with a typical non-World Cup year.
The figures are based on Office for National Statistics turnover data and historical spending patterns from previous World Cup tournaments, modelling how major sporting events influence consumer behaviour across hospitality and leisure businesses.
Extended evening opening hours, combined with increased demand for food delivery on match nights, are expected to support hospitality businesses in capitalising on group bookings, match-day screenings and at-home viewing. While the food and drink sector is expected to lead overall gains, related hospitality and transport services are also forecast to benefit from increased consumer activity.
“Late kick-offs are expected to concentrate spending into evening trading hours, driving higher footfall in pubs, bars and restaurants, as well as increased demand for delivery,” said Joe Phelan, business bank accounts expert at money.co.uk. “That creates a strong opportunity, not only for national operators, but also for independent businesses that rely on peak match-day trading.
“What we typically see during major tournaments is a clear shift towards shared, experience-led spending, and the food and drink sector sits right at the centre of that behaviour.”
