29 May 2019, Pubs & Bars
With two English teams heading to the finals of the UEFA Champions League next week, pubs need to ready themselves for the highest earning sporting event in terms of draught beer say industry insight experts, Vianet.
Last year, excluding data from the World Cup, Vianet insight showed the biggest draught throughput was from the UEFA Champions League final match with 11200 barrels sold. This was closely followed by the English Premier League match between Tottenham and Manchester City and FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester United. The insight has proven that watching live football in pubs is the most lucrative occasion for them and the need to get quality and yield right can really boost profit for pubs.
Speaking about the opportunity live football provides pubs, managing director for Vianet Steven Alton says, “With hotels reaching £1,000 per night in Madrid when the final is scheduled, more fans will be choosing to stay on UK soil to watch the match and many of them will be choosing the pub. For this opportunity pubs need to care for the fans so it’s not just a one off trading opportunity.
The average difference in beer volumes and profit between a pub that serves beer via clean lines and those that serve only half via clean lines equates to an extra 14,100 pints a year sold or £25,000 more profit based on £3.50 a pint. Pubs just can’t afford not to look after their beer at any time but with business opportunities like the UEFA Champions League, not doing it, is like throwing money down the drip tray”.
During the World Cup 2018, 35% of pints poured were identified as poor quality whether that is being poured through unclean lines or at the wrong temperature.
Adding, Alton says, “Pubs are an essential part of British culture as is football and there is nothing better than watching a fantastic match in a pub with a great beer. The Liverpool vs Spurs final will be probably the biggest sporting opportunity in pubs this year. We need to make sure that fans come back for more following a fantastic experience”.
