England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina delivered the biggest single night of trading that Britain’s pubs and bars have seen all tournament, with transactions up 145 per cent on the day and late-night trade between 10pm and 2am up 97 per cent, according to new figures from payments company Square.
For a sector that entered the summer counting closures rather than customers, Wednesday’s numbers are the clearest evidence yet that the tournament’s forecast multibillion-pound windfall is landing in tills rather than staying in spreadsheets.
The scale of the semi-final effect becomes obvious when set against the rest of England’s run. The quarter-final against Norway on 11 July lifted pub and bar transactions by 40 per cent, a strong night by any normal measure, yet barely a third of Wednesday’s uplift.
Venues did not even need England on the pitch to feel the benefit. The Spain v France semi-final on 14 July, a fixture with no home interest whatsoever, still gave pubs a 26 per cent lift.
The late-night figure will be particularly welcome. The government’s contingent relaxation of licensing hours allowed licensed premises in England and Wales to keep serving until 1am for the semi-final, and the near-doubling of trade after 10pm suggests operators made every one of those extra minutes count.
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