Demand for real ale drives JD Wetherspoon sales rise

Value pub chain's like-for-like sales rose 3.5% in the 11 weeks to 14 July

Investors in JD Wetherspoon have raised a glass to the value pub chain after it reported better-than-expected sales, on the back of strong demand for real ale, steak meals and hot drinks.

The pub chain's like-for-like sales rose 3.5% in the 11 weeks to 14 July, putting the company on track for improved results at the end of the financial year. Shares in the business rose 6% to 708.5p in early trading.

JD Wetherspoon, which opens its 888th pub next week, is selling record numbers of Aberdeen Angus steaks, said non-executive chairman and founder Tim Martin.

Hot drink sales were also doing very well, he added, with a typical Wetherspoon's pub selling nearly 1,000 cups of tea and coffee a week – "by some way the highest in the industry".

Real ale sales were also up, he said. Although overall beer sales were flat, this compares favourably to an industry average of declining sales.

The recent spell of hot weather has led to "slightly subdued sales", Martin said, as the pub chain has fewer gardens than the industry average. But last winter's lighter snowfall – following the preceding year's heavy snows that kept people indoors – helped the company to raise like-for-like sales by 6% in the 50 weeks to 14 July.

JD Wetherspoon is on track for improved results at the end of the financial year. Prospects for the economy are improving slowly, Martin said.

"People are thinking by the skin of our teeth we have dodged financial Armageddon and maybe we will celebrate with a few pints at Wetherspoons. I think if you summed up the great British consumer that would be their attitude. They are not planning on splashing out at the Ritz." He added: "We have had a massive debt binge; we have now got a hangover and it is going to take a decade or two for the hangover to subside."

The pub entrepreneur also said that the pub industry continued to lose business to the supermarkets, which do not charge VAT on food, while pubs must charge the tax at 20%. "We are affected by [the VAT disparity], but we have been able to fight a rearguard action."

Article Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk

Azure Global’s vision is to be widely recognized as a reputed firm of financial business advisors, achieving real growth for ambitious companies and to become the first choice for F&A outsourcing for accountancy practices and businesses alike and if u want to Setup ur business in United Kingdom then  its not difficult in this modern age for more info visit our site Azure Global and join us also On Facebook

Manufacturers see first rise in new orders for a year

CBI survey finds firms have increased production and employment as outlook improves

Manufacturers started the summer in buoyant mood following the first rise in new orders for a year, according to a survey by the business group the CBI.

Firms increased production and employment as the outlook for the sector improved in the three months to the end of July.

The quarterly industrial trends survey also found that firms anticipated a further modest rise in orders and output in the coming three months, while expectations for growth in new domestic orders were at their highest since April last year.

However, the improving situation, which is also reflected in other surveys of manufacturers, failed to persuade firms to increase investment in new equipment.

The CBI said planned capital expenditure on plant and machinery over the next 12 months had deteriorated slightly. "When asked about factors likely to limit investment, manufacturers most often cited uncertainty about demand, which was of slightly greater concern than usual," the CBI said.

The government has waited several years for a strong boost to investment after a severe slowdown in the wake of the financial crash. But the eurozone crisis and the government's own austerity measures have delayed the expected return of consumer confidence, widely seen as a precursor to a rise in investment spending.

The Office for Budget Responsibility, which monitors the economy for its impact on the government's finances, has pencilled in a recovery in investment over the next two years to underpin a return to average growth levels.

Manufacturers' intentions to invest in plant and machinery dipped -1% compared to -9% in the previous quarter.

he production line at Nissan's factory in Sunderland. The CBI said optimism in the manufacturing sector had risen again.The survey's main total orders balance picked up from -18 in June to -12, which is its strongest level since last December. Striking an even brighter note, 32% of firms reported an increase in total new orders against 27% that said they decreased, giving a balance of +5%.

Samuel Tombs, UK economist at the consultancy Capital Economics, said the sector's recovery was gathering momentum, though at a slower pace than the services sector.

"This improvement brings the CBI's survey in line with the relatively upbeat tone of the other surveys. But with demand for exports weak in the UK's largest market, the eurozone, and domestic consumers' real pay still being squeezed, it is hard to see how the manufacturing sector's recovery can gather much more pace in the near term," he said.

Stephen Gifford, the CBI's director of economics, said manufacturers had seen a pick-up in activity across the board, but agreed there was still a degree of nervousness around the boardroom tables of many firms.

"Optimism in the sector has risen again, and demand conditions are expected to improve further in the coming three months," he said.

"The gentle rise in confidence is being reflected in firms' headcount, which is rising at the fastest rate in a year.

"But manufacturers remain concerned about political and economic conditions abroad limiting export orders, which is likely to reflect heightened uncertainty over the global economic outlook."

Article Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk

Azure Global’s vision is to be widely recognized as a reputed firm of financial business advisors, achieving real growth for ambitious companies and to become the first choice for F&A outsourcing for accountancy practices and businesses alike and if u want to Setup ur business in United Kingdom then  its not difficult in this modern age for more info visit our site Azure Global and join us also On Facebook