Drink sales down 6.5 per cent at Globe Pub Co

The Robert Tchenguiz-owned Globe Pub Company said year-on-year drinks sales for the three months to August 2008 fell more than six per cent compared with the previous quarter.

The decline of 6.5 per cent was the same for the year-to-date, the group reported in a financial report for investors. It said the fall was "a reflection of further decline in consumer confidence". However the drink sales decline in the previous quarter was 12.5 per cent.

The group's turnover for the three months to August 31, 2008, was £11.8m. EBITDA amounted to £5.8m, or 49.3 per cent of net sales.

Globe, whose pubs are operated by Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises, said its rent roll had fallen by £500,000 in the quarter, down to £13.3m.

Rent concessions were being made available to 30 pubs, up from 13 in the previous quarter, it added.

The group has sold or is in the process of selling six pubs, with gross proceeds of nearly £6.5m. It has another 20 pubs on the market, for which it hopes to get a further £8m.

The number of Globe pubs closed in the quarter rose from 12 to 18, while tenancies at will rose by four to 70 pubs, 16 per cent of the estate.

Capital expenditure across the group's estate amounted to £700,000, it said, up from £500,000 in the previous quarter.

In its financial report the company highlighted a number of marketing initiatives designed to increase the number of punters visiting its pubs including pub poker, which was said to be "working very well".

Cider sales continued to show growth, Globe said, despite the poor weather, while access to Heineken brands "presents the opportunity to refine the lager range in some Globe houses".