Greene King's Pub Sales Reveal North-South Divide

British pub chain Greene King's latest preliminary results detect a north-south divide when it comes to the amount of drink consumed in its pubs.

Greene King said sales at its Metropolitan premium London pubs were up 7.4% in terms of like for like sales for first eight weeks of the financial year, but not so in the north.

The firm said it saw "LFL sales overall in the south up, while LFL sales in the north are down."

IBTimes UK requested more details regarding the findings but Greene King said it had no more specific figures to release.

Since reporting its full year results on May 4 the pubs and leisure firm has seen a strong start to the year: net income in its core Pub Partners estate was up 3.5%, with Brewing & Brands OBV, helped by strong Take Home sales due to the World Cup, up 6.2%.

Greene King said it expects to add 50-60 new retail sites in the year.

In its previous year the brand reported retail sales having increased by 4.1%, with food sales up by 5%. Total revenue was up by 8.9% for the year reaching £1.3bn.

Rooney Anand, Greene King chief executive, said: "There are now clear signs that both the UK economic outlook and consumer confidence are improving, although consumers continue to spend cautiously."