Greene King sold half a million extra pints during England’s World Cup thrashing of Panama, and the team’s progress to the knockout stages is likely to provide an unexpected boost to the bottom line of Britain’s biggest pub and brewing company.
Rooney Anand, the chief executive of the Suffolk-based business, said warm weather and the World Cup had brought more people to its pubs.
“Let’s hope Harry Kane has got his shooting boots on tonight,” he said. “His hat-trick on Sunday helped us sell nearly half a million [more] pints during the game. It remains true that when the sun shines or sport is on, people do want to go to the pub.”
He said the company had budgeted for only three England matches, so the team’s presence in the last 16 would be a bonus. “A lot of beer is being drunk, a lot of cider and gin. Gin sales are up 50% year on year,” Anand said.
In the past, World Cups mainly increased lager consumption. But Anand said fans are now drinking craft beer, gin and wine. In many of Greene King’s pubs, this is raising sales by 50%-100% on England match days.
The company has invested in better TV screens and rolled out its season ticket app in 750 pubs. In the run-up to the World Cup, about 100,000 customers signed up to the app, which allows them to find forthcoming sports fixtures and features personalised offers and loyalty points at participating pubs.
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