Weather cools hospitality group performance as sector sees 1.5% sales growth in July: Britain’s managed hospitality groups reported year-on-year growth of 1.5% in July 2024, down from June’s rate of 2.9%, the latest CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker reveals. As July started with the peak of the 2024 Euros, including the quarter, semi-final and final games, Britain’s pubs enjoyed a more positive outcome from the tournament than the England team, experiencing like-for-like growth of 4.9%. The best performing segment in July, pubs within the M25, performed especially well, with 9.9% like-for-like growth. It was a slightly more negative picture for other segments as consumers shifted their spend towards pubs. Restaurant performance saw steep declines, dropping from a 4.7% increase in June to a 2.1% drop in July. Bars had another negative month, down by 6%, while the on-the-go segment saw like-for-like growth of 1.5%. CGA director Karl Chessell said: “With most positive growth being seen in the pub sector in July, this had a knock-on effect to other hospitality venues as they saw like-for-like drops in performance. For hospitality as a whole, this isn’t necessarily a negative thing. The uplifts seen based on key events within the month show that whilst the cost-of-living pressures are still ongoing, consumers are still making those all-important visits to hospitality venues. As we move into the back end of summer, with warmer weather, and an upcoming bank holiday at the end of the month, we hope to see growth spread more equally across key segments.”