South East pubs most likely to defy the crunch
Pubs in the South East of England will prove to be the most resilient to the credit crunch, according to new research.
Romford, in Essex, appears the best placed to defy the downturn - with each pub and restaurant having the potential to take an average of £3.7m per year.
The figures, from marketing firm CACI, were calculated by comparing the drinking habits and disposable incomes of an area's population with the number of licensed outlets in that location.
On this basis, Penzance, in Cornwall, came out bottom with just £0.48m available spend per outlet - compared to a national UK average of £1.3m.
However towns in the North West of England fared badly with Stalybridge, Birkenhead and Ashton-under-Lyne all featuring in the list of least available spend per outlet.
Nielsen Harrap, CACI's principal consultant - location planning, said: "We can see from this research that several areas are still ripe for success, with our research showing that outside the M25 in areas of Surrey and Kent, pubs and restaurants have huge potential markets to tap into.
"However, the general outlook for the market is not good - and it's concerning to see how small the available spend per licensed outlet is in London's older inner city areas and in parts of Northern England where pubs opened as smoke-stack industry developed."
Top 20 markets with the highest available spend per licensed outlet (£million):
Romford, Essex 3.7
Harrow, London 3.5
Camberley, Surrey 3.3
Southall, London 3.1
Ilford, Essex 3.0
Wokingham, Berks 2.9
Finchley Central, London 2.7
Wimbledon, London 2.7
Bexleyheath, London 2.7
Fareham, Hants 2.5
High Wycombe, Bucks 2.5
Crawley, West Sussex 2.5
Beckenham, Kent 2.4
Woking, Surrey 2.4
Solihull, Birmingham 2.4
Hendon, London 2.4
Croydon, London 2.4
Ashford, Kent 2.3
Horsham, West Sussex 2.3
Milton Keynes 2.3
UK average 1.3
London markets with the lowest available spend per licensed outlet (£million):
Regents Park, London 0.14
Peckham, London 0.17
Bermondsey, London 0.25
Tower Hamlets, London 0.26
Vauxhall, London 0.26
Bethnal Green, London 0.26
Kennington, London 0.28
Euston Road, London 0.28
Old Street, London 0.29
Kings Cross, London 0.32
Markets with the lowest available spend per licensed outlet outside London (£million):
Penzance, Cornwall 0.48
Stalybridge, Gtr Manchester 0.52
North Shields 0.62
Birkenhead 0.62
Ashton-under-Lyne, Gtr Manchester 0.67
Accrington, Lancashire 0.70
Gateshead, nr Newcastle 0.71
Wallasey, Liverpool 0.71
Stockport 0.73
Rochdale 0.74
