Punch Profit Declines 24% as Smoking Ban Hurts Sales
Punch Taverns Plc, the largest U.K. pub landlord, said first-half profit declined 24 percent after the company sold outlets, a smoking ban kept drinkers at home and consumer spending slowed.
The company had never posted a first-half profit decline since its 2002 initial share sale. Rivals Enterprise Inns Plc and J.D. Wetherspoon Plc have also suffered since England banned smoking at bars and other public places in July.
Punch said today it has reduced the number of pubs it owns by 9 percent to about 8,450 since the first half of last year.
Source: Bloomberg.com. Link
