IN the March Budget, chancellor George Osborne axed the beer duty escalator and cut tax by 1p a pint. But what impact will it have on draught beer sales?
Budvar:
“It’s still early days but I very much doubt that it will have much effect. To really make an impact duty would have to be dramatically reduced to civilised European levels” – Jill Sutherland, head of operations in Scotland.
Heineken:
“It is currently too early to say what impact the 2013 Budget has had on sales. However, the end of the beer duty escalator and a cut of 1p a pint in duty will go a long way to helping secure jobs in our industry and preserving the pleasure of a hard earned pint at the end of the day” – John Gemmell, trading director.
Tennent Caledonian:
“The beer duty escalator was a contributing factor to pub closures and job losses across the hospitality industry. It is a positive step for our customers that the government has recognised the important contribution that brewing and pubs make to the economy” – spokeswoman.
Carlsberg UK:
“The duty reduction and removal of the duty escalator was undoubtedly very welcome news for consumers, but it’s not easy to isolate the impact – in the short term, an improvement in the weather probably has just as much influence on whether customers go to the pub” – David Scott, director of brands and insight.
