Pub companies renting a pub could see food sales rise on Christmas Day with more families opting for a meal out rather than slaving away over a turkey at home.
According to the Financial Times, Whitbread figures show Christmas Day covers rose by 13.5 per cent between 2008 and 2009, compared with a 6.2 per cent increase in meals throughout the rest of the year.
Harvester and Crown Carvaries parent company Mitchells & Butlers announced it expects to generate more money on December 25th than on any other day of the year, the newspaper reports.
Adam Fowle, chief executive of the pub company, told the paper that not all patrons will opt for turkey when they head out.
While the traditional festive meat looks likely to be the most popular dish tomorrow, many men will choose steak instead.
Meanwhile, the British Beer & Pub Association has called on the government to delay the VAT rise because of poor weather conditions hitting the pub trade hard this December.
3 Jan 2011
Licensed property news: Christmas Day 'will see busy pubs'
18 Dec 2010
UK Pub Sales News: Localism bill 'will allow communities to buy pubs for sale'
Communities will be able to buy pubs for sale and other local amenities under government plans to devolve power to residents' groups.
According to the Morning Advertiser, the Localism bill, which has been published today (December 14th) in parliament, will allow communities to club together to purchase licensed properties.
Communities minister Andrew Stunell commented: "Local facilities have been closing down all over the country, leaving towns and villages without vital services.
"Small community groups that are willing to take over local assets often find that they lack the time and resources to get a plan together and compete with the might and muscle of big business and developers."
However, the bill will give "real power" to local communities and put them "at the heart of local decision making".
Communities secretary Eric Pickle hailed the bill as the "centrepiece" of David Cameron's Big Society concept, as it aims to give councils and residents more powers and freedoms over planning, housing developments and management of public services.
3 Dec 2010
BBC News - British village life 'dying out' after pub closures
Village life in Britain is "dying out" because rural pubs are closing at a record rate, a report from the National Housing Federation has said.
The Federation said pubs were one of the "cornerstones of traditional village life".
The report's co-authors, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said 893 pubs closed last year following the recession and increased taxes.
The government said it would give rural communities powers to save local pubs.
The federation, which represents England's housing associations, said key services were disappearing "at an alarming rate" and that affordable local housing was the key to saving traditional village life.
It also said that about 400 village shops closed in 2008, while in England, between 1997 and 2008, rural schools shut down at the rate of one a month.
And it said the closures reflected a declining demand for services in villages where local families had been priced out of the area by wealthy commuters, pensioners and second-home owners.
Another factor was that there were too few new homes, it added.
