England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina delivered one of the biggest trading nights for British businesses and pubs of all competitions, with transactions up 145 per cent on the day and overnight trading between 10pm and 2am up 97 per cent, according to new figures from payments company Square.
In a sector that has entered the closing summer countdown instead of customers, Wednesday’s numbers are clear evidence however that the tournament’s multi-billion pound forecast is going into cans rather than sitting on spreadsheets.
The quality of the semi-final result becomes clear when compared to the rest of England. The quarter-final against Norway on July 11 boosted pub and bar sales by 40 per cent, a strong night by any standard, but only about a third of Wednesday’s lift.
The stadiums didn’t even need England on the field to feel the benefit. The Spain v France semi-final on 14 July, a lackluster home game, still gave pubs a 26 per cent lift.
The night count will be especially welcome. Government cuts to unplanned licensing hours have allowed licensed venues in England and Wales to stay open until 1am to finish the semi-finals, and trade nearly doubling after 10pm suggests operators are making all those minutes count.
Outside of London, the biggest winners were in the Midlands and the North. Birmingham tops the square table of England’s biggest cities, with transactions in pubs, bars and restaurants up 121 per cent on the day of the Argentina match. Southampton followed with 115 per cent, with Manchester close behind at 112 per cent, Bristol at 93 per cent and Sheffield at 76 per cent.
John O’Beirne, CEO of Square International, said the competition was a milestone in the industry. “The World Cup has been an important time for visitors to Britain. Football fans turned out to support their country game after game, and the England v Argentina game drew crowds to the bars and pubs. Although England will not be in the final, we can still expect bars and pubs to see a strong trade as people tune in to the final weekend of the tournament.”
There is one wrinkle for users watching Sunday’s final. The automatic license extension only applies to matches involving the home country, so with England out, venues looking to trade beyond their normal hours will need a Temporary Event Notice rather than a free pass.
For SME owners, the numbers have two lessons without competition. The first is that demand for large events is now predictable enough to be unplanned, which is why insurers have been urging operators to prepare for event-driven demand surges months in advance, from staffing to stocking to licensing.
The second is resilience. A 145 per cent increase in card purchases is only good news when the card machines are sitting, and June’s Worldpay outage during England’s group game against Ghana showed how quickly a rough night can turn into cash only.
England may not have made it to the finals, but for the nation’s taxpayers the tournament has paid off. The question now is whether the Sunday crowds are turning to football alone, or is it because going to the pub for the big game has become a habit again.
