France "may have lifted the World Cup trophy this summer," but "one of the biggest winners off the pitch" was the British pub company behind the Walkabout and Sports Bar & Grill chains, according to Dominic Walsh of the LONDON TIMES. Stonegate Pub Company, which is backed by private equity firm TDR Capital, reported like-for-like sales growth of 19.2% during the tournament as football fans "flocked to its venues to enjoy the atmosphere." It said that the tournament had incremental revenue of £11.9M ($15.6M), with beer sales up 550% for England games and 44% for other matches. It sold 4.5 million pints throughout the competition, peaking during England’s semifinal against Croatia, when 367,000 pints were "quaffed." Stonegate CEO Simon Longbottom said that while "England’s strong run and the hot weather" provided a "big boost to sales," the performance was also testimony to the "heavy investment made by the company in its sports offering." He said that the ability to book seats and the introduction of table service "kept customers happy" and maximized sales. He said, "Don’t forget, the tournament wasn’t on Sky, which meant people could watch at home, so you have to work very hard to attract people" (LONDON TIMES, 9/17).
