Pub-goers in Ipswich among country's biggest spenders after lockdown

Punters in Ipswich were among the top spenders during the first week of pubs reopening after the coronavirus lockdown, it has been revealed.

In the first week after pubs reopened on Monday, April 12, venues saw long queues outside.

Now, analysts at payment provider Dojo have found that drinkers in Ipswich were splashing the cash more than most.

Its study of anonymised transactions found pub customers in Ipswich spent an average of £18.12 per transaction — ranking 19th among all towns and cities across the UK.

This came as no surprise to Chris Mapey, who runs the Grand Old Duke of York pub in Woodbridge Road, Ipswich.

He said: "I think Ipswich has taken to being able to meet up in groups again, socially, really.

"It's groups of fives and sixes that are going out now, rather than just couples from when pubs were last open in December.

"And of course, everybody's buying rounds. It's the first chance people have had to buy their mates a beer for a long time.

"I don't think it's what people are drinking, I think it's just that lovely sociable thing of people buying rounds again.

"So instead of selling two drinks, we're selling five or six at a time."

Mr Mapey said the reopening had been "brilliant" so far.

He added that his pubs had seen "well behaved customers and really great crowds".

He said: "We've ended up having one of the best weeks we've ever had since we took over The Duke at the end of 2019. Saturday  was actually our busiest day ever.

"Everybody seems to be following the rules. 

"We've all been locked away for a while and especially with this current weather people just want to meet up with their friends safely and have a couple of beers at the end of the day."

The Dojo study found that on Monday, April 12, punters spent around four times more in hospitality businesses than they normally would on a Monday.