- Sales of wine and spirits in our pubs, bars and restaurants
have more than halved during 2020
The WSTA is calling on people up and down the country to support
their local on St. George’s Day this Friday and raise a glass to
hard working staff in England’s pubs, bars and restaurants.
Forced to close for much of the last 12 months, and only
permitted to re-open under strict conditions, pubs, bars and
restaurants across England are opening for the first time in 2021
and welcoming back drinkers outside their venues.
It came as a huge blow to the hospitality sector when gearing up
for the Christmas trading period, the busiest time of the year,
that venues were told they would once again have to close. The
losses of missing out on the crucial revenue that the holiday
festivities provided were devastating.
Latest figures from the WSTA’s, soon-to-be-released, Market
Report show that over the last 12 months, to December 2020, sales
of both still wine and spirits in the on-trade are down 60% in
volume terms on 2019, pre-pandemic levels.
The phenomenal growth of gin over the last five years, in the
on-trade, has been halted in its tracks – sales were down to £675
million throughout 2020, which is a staggering drop of over £1
billion.
Rum, billed as the next spirit with the potential to ‘do a gin’,
saw sales cut in half, whilst sales of sparkling wines and
Champagne were down around £650 million.
These numbers ultimately mean less money in the pockets of pub,
bar and restaurant businesses, and those that supply into the
hospitality sector, limiting their ability to recover from a
torrid 12 months for the sector.
The WSTA has said that there is no better way to show support to
all the hard-working publicans, restauranteurs and staff employed
throughout the hospitality sector than by taking this St.
George’s Day as an opportunity to safely toast the sector’s
resilience.
Miles Beale, Chief Executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade
Association, said:
“The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns on
pubs, bars and restaurants is laid bare in the latest numbers -
showing that sales are drastically down on 2019 levels.
“The hospitality sector is a vital shop-window for our innovative
wine and spirit SMEs, who have been particularly hard hit during
the pandemic. The resilience of the SME sector is also something
worth supporting.
“This St. George’s Day provides the perfect opportunity for
people to book a table at their local pub, to their favourite
local restaurant or bar, and raise a glass to all those across
the hospitality sector – including those businesses that supply
into the sector. Many of them are SMEs and have had to survive
the last 12 months without the full suite of government support
afforded to pubs, bars and restaurants.
The people behind the scenes in the hospitality sector have
worked incredibly hard to make their venues Covid-safe for the
public to return. We will be toasting not only our great
hospitality sector’s resilience and fight, but also to the future
rebuilding, growth and success of a vital sector of our economy
and an integral part of Britain’s world-leading wine and spirit
industry.”
