England's Opening Game Sparks Record Matchday Bookings for Greene King

Greene King, the country's leading pub company and brewer, has reported that England's opening game against Croatia tonight (Wednesday, 17 June) is the top performing fixture of the tournament to date with 5.6k bookings for the match across its managed pubs. This is higher than England's first Euro 2024 match vs Serbia.

To date, managed pubs have received bookings for 65k covers for this summer's international football fixtures.

More than 4.5k people secured their seats in Greene King managed pubs to watch the tournament's opening Mexico vs South Africa match.

Despite a 2am kick off time for Scotland's opening game vs Haiti last Sunday, almost 20 pubs across Scotland reported reaching booked seating capacity, so were offering walk ins and standing room only as the match began. Bookings for Friday's game between Scotland and Morocco continue to rise with over 4k secured to date.

Jodie Tate, chief operating officer at Greene King, said: "We have a proud history of showing live sport in our pubs and are delighted to see so many fans choosing to watch matches with us. Booking continue to be ahead compared to the Euros in 2024 as fans plan to come together and enjoy the games in a lively and welcoming atmosphere. We only expect demand to increase as customers make the most of our fantastic pubs and our loyalty app, which includes offers and rewards throughout the tournament. As we continue to face a layering of costs, this summer of sport gives us reason to be optimistic. Good luck to all the teams!"

Notes to editors

Greene King is the country's leading pub company and brewer trading c2,500 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland.

At Greene King we are passionate about delivering our purpose to 'pour happiness into lives'. That's for our customers, our team, our pub partners, our suppliers and the communities in which we live, operate and serve. Founded in 1799 with offices in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk and Burton on Trent in Staffordshire we employ around 38,000 people across the group and operate three divisions including Managed Pubs, Pub Partners and Brewing & Brands.

• Managed Pubs: Our Managed Pubs division brings together our best-known pub and restaurant brands nationwide, including Greene King pubs, Hungry Horse, Chef & Brewer, Farmhouse Inns and Flaming Grill. We offer great service, quality and value for a wide range of eating and drinking occasions. Ventures includes Hickory's, Premium (Crafted Pubs & Metropolitan Pub Company) and Hotels, which operate independently of Greene King's managed pub brands.

• Pub Partners: Pub Partners runs our tenanted and leased pubs business and Hive and Nest franchise pubs. These options combine entrepreneurial independence with practical support, enabling partners to run successful local businesses within a market-leading estate. We have c.1,000 leased, tenanted and franchise pubs.

• Brewing & Brands covers the brewing sides of the business. Quality ales are brewed at the Westgate brewery in Bury St Edmunds and the Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar. Our industry-leading portfolio includes Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale, Ice Breaker and Belhaven Best and our premium beers, Level Head and Hazy Day, brewed for the modern-day drinker.

For more information:

Greene King Press Office. Email: pressoffice@greeneking.co.uk

Third-party news items are published as received for informational purposes. Publication does not imply endorsement by the Guild. Please use the contact details within the post for any enquiries.