- Scottish pubs expect to sell 78 more pints per pub than those in England
- More than 328,000 pints to be sold in company’s Scottish and English pubs, highlighting important boost live sport brings for pubs
- Company expects to see a 50,000-drink uplift during the match
23 February 2024 – As Scotland prepare to face England in the Six Nations on Saturday, Greene King expects supporters to buy 328,700 pints while enjoying the match across pubs in the two nations.
With Scotland aiming to win the Calcutta Cup for the fourth consecutive year, Greene King predicts that pubs across both nations will benefit from selling an additional 50,000 pints during the match.
With Scots more than fancying their chances, the pub and brewing company, which operates under the Belhaven brand in Scotland, is predicting fans will support the national team and their local pubs, with an expected 78 more pints to be sold per pub in Scotland than in its English pubs.
In total, Scots are expected to buy 34,700 pints across the company’s 124 Belhaven pubs during the match, almost 5,000 more than during other Six Nations matches, highlighting the anticipation this game brings for supporters.
The English are also keen to enjoy the match in their local, with an expected 294,000 pints being poured across Greene King’s managed pubs in the nation, over 12,000 more than during any other England game.
The Six Nations is a major driver of footfall for hospitality businesses. The tournament was the third most popular event across Greene King’s pubs in 2023, behind the King’s Coronation and St Patrick’s Day. During the nine days of rugby last year, the company poured more than 3 million pints across its UK managed pubs, with the busiest day being Scotland’s victory over England on the opening day.
Greene King CEO, Nick Mackenzie, said: “The local pub has always been at the heart of the community and no more so for than when a great sporting event is taking place.
“With the Calcutta Cup being one of the oldest and most iconic fixtures in the sporting calendar, we’re looking forward to welcoming fans to Greene King and Belhaven pubs across the nation on Saturday afternoon to enjoy the match together.”
To celebrate the tournament, Greene King is offering six fans the opportunity to win a dream trip worth £3,000 to one of the six nations. To enter, fans only need to visit www.greeneking.co.uk/live-sport/rugby/six-nations and correctly answer who won the 2023 Guinness Six Nations tournament by completing the form to enter. Entries close on 16th March, with winners announced after the conclusion of the tournament.
-ENDS-
For more information, or any other media enquiries please contact greeneking@headlandconsultancy.com
Notes to editors
Greene King is the country’s leading pub company and brewer with c.2,600 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 39,000 people across the group with four divisions: Greene King pubs, Destination Brands, Partnership and Ventures, and Brewing & Brands.
- Greene King pubs are located where people and communities come together; pubs enjoyed in cities, towns and villages throughout the country
- Destination Brands is a mixture of food and drink-led brands including Hungry Horse, Farmhouse Inns, Chef & Brewer, Wacky Warehouse, and Pub & Carvery, Pub & Dining and Pub & Grill
- Partnerships & Ventures includes Pub Partners, which runs our tenanted and leased pubs business and Hive Franchise pubs, and our Ventures Brands which is made up of Metropolitan Pub Company, Hickory’s, Hotels Group and Crafted 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 Flint Eye, brewed for the modern-day drinker.
For more information, or any other media enquiries please contact greeneking@headlandconsultancy.com
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