UK pub chain ‘ready’ ahead of World Cup 2026 Cotswolds mania

Fuller’s has said it is “garden-ready” for the summer season and the FIFA World Cup, as more consumers book ahead and opt for staycations.

The company nonetheless took aim at tax rises it said were helping fuel pub closures and youth unemployment.

Fuller’s, which has 337 pubs and hotels across the south of England, reported revenues of £397.8 million for the year to March 28, up 5.7 per cent on the prior year.

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This was driven by higher food and drink sales as well as room bookings at its hotels.

Sales growth has continued since April, rising 4.4 per cent in the first 10 weeks of the financial year, compared like for like with the year before.

Fuller’s said it was well prepared for the summer and to host football fans coming to pubs to watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will see England and Scotland play in the group stages of the tournament in the coming weeks.

It also highlighted strong hotel bookings linked to an increase in demand for staycations, particularly in the Cotswolds.

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Fuller’s executive chairman, Simon Emeny, said: “As we move into our summer season, preparations have gone well.

“Our garden investment programme has seen fresh space created for peak trading, advance bookings for the World Cup have been strong, and we are seeing increased demand for staycations benefiting our excellent rooms business.”

Mr Emeny said the group has been managing to grow sales “against an increasingly challenging macroeconomic and political backdrop”.

He said the industry has grappled with “unprecedented government interference, additional taxes and regulations”, particularly taking aim at last year’s increase to employer national insurance contributions, as well as costs like alcohol duty and sugar tax.

“These decisions come with consequences,” he warned, pointing to an increase in levels of youth unemployment and the closure of pubs in the UK.