Is ‘Spoons and other pub chains the real barometer of the economy? (Henry Nicholls/PA)
(Picture: PA Archive)So what do today’s figures tell us about the state of the economy? No, not the ONS’s surprisingly brisk GDP data — does a trip to the GP’s surgery really count as economic activity? — but the altogether more interesting insights from ubiquitous pub chain Wetherspoons.
Its unusually downbeat chairman and founder Tim Martin spoke of the “laborious” recovery in pub revenues after the lifting of pandemic restrictions. The real shocker was sales of pints, still down 8% on 2019 levels. Yet cocktail sales are up 18.6%. Go figure.
