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Football fans flocked to pubs and bars on Sunday evening to watch England defeat Mexico, boosting venues’ sales despite the match starting even later than expected.
Venues that chose to open to host England fans for the 2am kick off cashed in as transactions on Monday morning rose to typical Saturday night levels, data experts said.
Pubs and bars in England and Wales saw transactions rise 367 per cent between 1am and 3am and 746 per cent between 3am and 5am, compared to a typical Monday morning, according to payments company Square.
Lawson Mountstevens, managing director of Heineken UK’s Star Pubs said: ‘This is a brilliant reminder of why pubs matter. Even with a 2am kick-off, fans still turned out to watch the match together, creating an atmosphere you simply cannot recreate at home.’
Although businesses and data analysts were still crunching the numbers last night, experts at VoucherCodes said it was likely that the game met expectations for spending of £401.9million.
They had predicted £310.6million would be spent in shops while England fans would fork out £91.3m in venues.
Football fans watched the England v Mexico game at venues including Wembley Boxpark
Around one in three pubs chose to open, after licensing hours were extended at the last minute, according to payment provider Dojo. They also estimated that half the usual number of fans stayed out to watch the game at a pub compared to Sunday afternoon.
Footfall on high streets across the entire UK rose by nearly 150 per cent between midnight and 6am compared with the same period last year, according to MRI Software.
Matt Snell, chief executive of BoxPark, said there was an 'incredible turnout' to his venues, resulting in an 'unbeatable atmosphere.'
Amy Williams, licensee at The George in Witham, owned by pub group Admiral Tavens, said around 200 people turned out to watch the match, with people arriving from 6pm to grab a good table.
She added: ‘The atmosphere from start to finish was amazing and when the final whistle blew the whole place went crazy!’
‘Our tills this morning showed a 341pc increase in takings compared to last Sunday which was a phenomenal result.
‘I knew it would be a long night so I brought in karaoke to keep everyone entertained right up until kick off. Even with the delayed start time, the mood stayed high as everyone just kept on singing.’
Britain’s biggest pub group Stonegate, which owns the Slug & Lettuce, Be at One, Sports Bar & Grill, said it poured 796,000 drinks - 355,000 more than a typical Sunday. Vodka was the most popular drink, it said.
And Yorkshire punters were the least afraid of a Monday hangover as they bought 126,000 drinks, just ahead of London’s 124,000.
It wasn’t just drinks flowing as Stonegate said it sold 1,250 portions of fries.
Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, said the game ‘will have provided a much-needed boost for those pubs showing the game and the entire sector will now be preparing for a super Saturday when England face Norway in the quarter final.’
Jared Sedgwick, director of operations at Marston’s, which runs more than 1,300 pubs, bars and inns nationwide, said that the night ‘was something truly special’.
He said: ‘Around 450 of our pubs stayed open through to 5am and the atmosphere was everything you'd hope for - passionate, community-spirited and the kind of night that everyone who was there will remember for a lifetime.’
And now venues will be getting ready for Saturday's quarter-final, when England is set to take on Norway for what is expected to be an even more lucrative match for pubs.
The quarter-finals are due to make a total of £493million, including £105million to be spent in pubs and venues, according to VoucherCodes.
The 10pm weekend kick off means that even more people are likely to head out to watch the game at a pub, the industry hopes.
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