Tue 24th May 2016 - Greene King Leisure Tracker – eating out spend increases in April despite leisure fall Greene King Leisure Tracker – eating out spend increases in April despite leisure fall: Leisure spend fell in April despite a £2 (2%) increase in eating out spend, according to the latest Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker. While the rise would appear modest, viewing the figures in the context of Easter shows eating out performed well. This April (a non-Easter month) saw spending on eating out surpass that of last year (an Easter month), illustrating the growing trends towards eating out. Year-on-year, spend on drinking out was unchanged but it represented a strong performance given it kept pace with the Easter month of April 2015. The average British household spent £206 on out-of-home leisure, a £10 (5%) decrease month-on-month due to a stronger March because of this year’s Easter date. This was also a £9 (4%) decrease in overall spend year-on-year driven by a £10 (12%) drop in spending on other leisure. Year-on-year, spend on other leisure declined significantly, with the British average falling by £10 (12%) year-on-year and £5 (6%) month-on-month. The Tracker also found a third of British football fans intend to watch at least one game of the European Championships in a pub this summer. This trend is driven by young fans between the ages of 18 and 24, with 60% of them planning to cheer on their team from a pub during the tournament. The Tracker also demonstrated the value of the pub as a sports venue is based on the great atmosphere it offers, with more than a third of all respondents answering that the atmosphere in the pub was important – more than the pub’s location, quality of the viewing and even the availability, variety and cost of the food and drinks on offer. Given the timing of many of the matches, several respondents said they would like their employer to allow them to watch the games during work hours. For the England versus Wales game, scheduled to take place at 2pm on Thursday, 16 June, more than double the number of respondents said they intended to watch the game in a pub than those who plan to watch it in their workplace, indicating the pub remains a venue of choice for fans regardless of work hours. Greene King group marketing director Fiona Gunn said: “With such a large proportion of the British population planning to enjoy games in a pub alongside friends, family or colleagues, it is clear it remains a well-established social venue for Brits. The importance of the pub’s atmosphere highlights that the character of the pub remains at the forefront of consumers’ minds when deciding where they will watch the upcoming games. At Greene King, we are pleased to see that the popularity of the pub as a sports venue remains high. To ensure we offer football fans the most optimum viewing experience possible, we have invested in creating a great atmosphere across our pubs by decorating the pubs with flags and bunting and offering quizzes, games and competitions before, during and after screenings of the games. We look forward to welcoming all customers to our pubs for this exciting tournament.”