An early Easter, and the impact of the World Cup 2014, resulted in disappointing beer sales in the second quarter of 2015, according to the latest figures from the British Beer & Pub Association’s Quarterly Beer Barometer.
Total sales were 5.6 per cent lower in Q2 compared with the same quarter in 2014. When it comes to the latest annual trend, the decline was lower, with off-trade sales down 1.9 per cent over the 12 months to June 2015, and on trade down 2.9 per cent. Total sales were down 2.4 per cent on the previous 12 months.
The BBPA is pointing out that Easter was in early April in 2015, meaning that some brewery sales may have shifted into Q1 compared to 2014, when Easter was in late April. Furthermore, the football World Cup took place in June 2014, boosting sales in that period – Q2 sales this year, remained above those in Q2 2013.
Brigid Simmonds, BBPA Chief Executive comments:
“While we may see a bounce back in Q3, these latest figures give no room for complacency, and show that more action is needed on beer duty. The Chancellor has made a great start, with his three, one penny cuts, but with inflation very low, and an industry still experiencing the impact of the 42 per cent rise under the previous Government’s escalator policy there is no doubt that more action is need to create a more sustainable future for Britain’s national drink.”
ENDS
For further information please contact:
David Wilson, Public Affairs Director: Tel (020) 7627 9151
Neil Williams, Head of Media: (020) 7627 9156
Notes to editors:
Beer and pubs – key facts:
- The beer and pub sector supports almost 900,000 jobs – 46 per cent are 16 to 24 year olds
- 82 per cent of the beer sold in Britain is made in Britain
- One job in brewing generates 18 jobs, in pubs, one in agriculture, one in the supply chain and one in retail.
- Pubs rely on beer sales – seven in every ten pub drinks sold is beer.
- Under the beer duty escalator (2008-2013) beer tax rose by 42 per cent. During this period, 7,000 pubs closed and 58,000 jobs were lost.
- After years of above inflation tax rises, beer taxes are still too high. Britons pay 40 per cent of all EU beer duties, but drink just 12 per cent of the beer.
The British Beer & Pub Association is the leading body representing Britain’s brewers and pub companies. The Association is more than a century old and was originally founded as the Brewers’ Society in 1904. Our members account for some 90 per cent of beer brewed in Britain today, and own around 20,000 of the nation’s pubs.
The BBPA has a long-established and authoritative reputation for the publication of statistics on the UK’s brewing and pub sector. Data is sourced directly from the Association’s brewing members, and accounts for 100 per cent of all beer sold in the UK.
In addition to the data available with this news release more detailed data is available to purchase from the BBPA. This includes a more detailed look at category performance and monthly breakdowns. For information about purchasing other data from the BBPA, please contact mtettenborn@beerandpub.com.
See table below. The full tables including quarterly data can also be downloaded on the BBPA website here
| UK Quarterly Beer Barometer |
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| 2nd Quarter 2015 (April to June) | ||||||||||||||
| Quarterly beer sales (‘000 barrels) | ||||||||||||||
| Total sales | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||||||||||
| Volume | % change | Volume | % change | Volume | % change | Volume | % change | |||||||
| 1997 | 7,369 | 9,464 | 9,586 | 10,193 | ||||||||||
| 1998 | 7,283 | -1.2% | 9,748 | 3.0% | 8,892 | -7.2% | 9,837 | -3.5% | ||||||
| 1999 | 7,215 | -0.9% | 9,032 | -7.3% | 9,315 | 4.8% | 10,265 | 4.3% | ||||||
| 2000 | 6,852 | -5.0% | 9,070 | 0.4% | 8,865 | -4.8% | 9,785 | -4.7% | ||||||
| 2001 | 6,811 | -0.6% | 8,972 | -1.1% | 8,906 | 0.5% | 9,939 | 1.6% | ||||||
| 2002 | 7,137 | 4.8% | 9,305 | 3.7% | 8,820 | -1.0% | 9,879 | -0.6% | ||||||
| 2003 | 7,048 | -1.2% | 9,286 | -0.2% | 9,270 | 5.1% | 9,896 | 0.2% | ||||||
| 2004 | 7,318 | 3.8% | 9,485 | 2.1% | 8,795 | -5.1% | 10,043 | 1.5% | ||||||
| 2005 | 7,090 | -3.1% | 9,087 | -4.2% | 8,995 | 2.3% | 9,730 | -3.1% | ||||||
| 2006 | 6,966 | -1.8% | 9,500 | 4.6% | 8,399 | -6.6% | 9,582 | -1.5% | ||||||
| 2007 | 6,783 | -2.6% | 8,835 | -7.0% | 8,357 | -0.5% | 9,180 | -4.2% | ||||||
| 2008 | 6,773 | -0.2% | 8,481 | -4.0% | 7,780 | -6.9% | 8,448 | -8.0% | ||||||
| 2009 | 6,252 | -7.7% | 8,063 | -4.9% | 7,740 | -0.5% | 8,159 | -3.4% | ||||||
| 2010 | 5,965 | -4.6% | 8,361 | 3.7% | 7,029 | -9.2% | 7,795 | -4.5% | ||||||
| 2011 | 5,818 | -2.5% | 7,630 | -8.7% | 7,248 | 3.1% | 7,781 | -0.2% | ||||||
| 2012 | 5,747 | -1.2% | 7,204 | -5.6% | 6,813 | -6.0% | 7,268 | -6.6% | ||||||
| 2013 | 5,587 | -2.8% | 6,863 | -4.7% | 7,180 | 5.4% | 7,368 | 1.4% | ||||||
| 2014 | 5,481 | -1.9% | 7,505 | 9.4% | 6,908 | -3.8% | 7,444 | 1.0% | ||||||
| 2015 | 5,435 | -0.8% | 7,086 | -5.6% | ||||||||||
| On-trade sales | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||||||||||
| Volume | % change | Volume | % change | Volume | % change | Volume | % change | |||||||
| 2000 | 5,246 | -4.1% | 6,096 | -4.1% | 5,969 | -5.5% | 6,047 | -4.9% | ||||||
| 2001 | 5,022 | -4.3% | 5,923 | -2.8% | 5,802 | -2.8% | 6,016 | -0.5% | ||||||
| 2002 | 5,069 | 0.9% | 5,838 | -1.4% | 5,629 | -3.0% | 5,797 | -3.6% | ||||||
| 2003 | 4,901 | -3.3% | 5,685 | -2.6% | 5,597 | -0.6% | 5,706 | |||||||
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