INTERVIEW: Fuller, Smith & Turner Says Trade To Get Tougher

11th Jun 2010 08:54

By Hannah Benjamin Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Pub and brewery group Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC (FSTA.LN) Friday said the strong start it has made to the current fiscal is unlikely to continue once pub-goers start feeling the pinch from the likely tax rises anticipated in this month's budget. "I'm not sure people will be able to maintain their current spending levels. With interest rates going down people with variable mortgages found they were better off than before but since the start of the year consumer confidence in our sector has dropped quite significantly," Chairman Michael Turner told Dow Jones Newswires. Fuller's Friday said comparable sales in its managed pubs and hotels rose 3.5% in the 10 weeks to June 5, which is stronger growth than it saw in fiscal 2010. But Turner said: "People are beginning to work out what's coming. Clearly the current government's been happy to let us know how bad things are and so I think it's going to be tough this year." -By Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9298; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 11, 2010 03:54 ET (07:54 GMT)