Companies: ETI   

With Croatia having dashed the nation’s footballing hopes, leisure sector players are feeling the pangs of disappointment all the more acutely. The British Beer & Pub Association calculates that an extra 25 million pints could have been served during England’s three group matches next summer had the team qualified for the European Championships, working out at up to £100 million of extra profit.

Ted Tuppen, chief executive of 8,000-strong pub operator Enterprise Inns (ETI), struck a further note of warning to leisure sector operators after his FTSE 100-quoted company showed a four per cent drop in profits for the year to September. Tuppen stated that he remains cautious about consumer confidence and the impact of the smoking ban. ‘Market conditions will continue to test our licensees and we believe that many poorer-quality pubs across the industry are likely to close. Nevertheless, given the quality and profitability of the ETI estate, we are confident that our pubs and licensees will continue to meet the challenges, gain market share and prosper.’

On smoking, Tuppen noted that it is possible, with the right approach – as he implies his own company is taking – to make a fist of the situation as ‘many people who avoided pubs because of the smoky atmosphere are now potential customers and forward-looking licensees are capitalising on this opportunity’. Unsurprisingly, this includes Enterprise, whose food revenues have risen 13 per cent in the past year.