City Pub Group encouraged by trading since reopening

Pub landlord City Pub Group said on Monday that it was encouraged by trading since reopening many of its locations following the easing of social distancing restrictions in England.

On 4 July, City Pub reopened 24 of its 48 pubs, with a further eight pubs reopening over the last two weeks and the remaining pubs on track to open their doors over the course of the next two months.

The AIM-listed company said stand-out performances had been delivered by a number of pubs - such as the Hoste in North Norfolk, which was benefitting from "a significant increase" in domestic tourism.

City Pub said total sales for the three week period since trading resumed were £1.8m - down 37% on a like-for-like basis.

"The profitable performance since reopening is a reflection of the quality of our asset base and the professionalism demonstrated by all of our staff, a large number of whom have been with the group for a number of years," said City Pub.

"The board remains confident it will be able to rebuild its sales to previous levels on a much lower cost base."

As of 0920 BST, City Pub shares were up 0.72% at 70p.