A very merry Christmas: Pubs hope for a boost from late-notice office parties
Pubs are readying for a wave of late bookings as office workers look for an excuse to put their Christmas party hats on.
Fuller’s chief executive Simon Emeny told CityA.M. that his pubs had seen a “real surge” in bookings and enquiries over the last two to three weeks, mainly from the City and West End.
“Most companies – having not been together as a group for nearly two years – are seeing this great opportunity to get their teams back together,” Emeny added.
The pub boss was optimistic after “great momentum” in sales after the return to the office and uptick in international tourists over the past few weeks.
Earlier this autumn there was evidence of office workers hesitating to return to the capital after headlines speculating of a reintroduction of Covid-19 measures this winter.
In its half-year results, Fuller’s yesterday reported a healthy adjusted profit of £4.6m, swinging from a £22.2m loss in last year’s comparable period.
Emeny echoed the comments of fellow hospitality boss Rob Pitcher. The Revolution Bars’ head honcho said parties were smaller and more impromptu than the corporate extravaganzas of years past.
Pitcher said earlier this week that Christmas bookings had been “building more slowly than we would normally expect.” The bar boss put the hesitancy down to “a level of uncertainty” around the government’s winter virus strategy.
“This leads us to believe the shape of Christmas trading will be different, including smaller parties and much higher levels of walk-ins which we have previously been unable to accommodate,” Pitcher added.