Could a post-lockdown Al fresco dining boom top-up your returns? 

Could Al fresco dining top-up your returns? Hospitality trade hopes Britons will spend their savings in beer gardens and outdoor cafes

After a long winter lockdown, pubs and restaurants are finally reopening.

The hospitality trade is hoping the nation charges out to spend their pent-up savings in beer gardens and outdoor cafes.

But could you also benefit from an alfresco boom with some shrewd investments?

Al fresco boom: The hospitality trade is hoping the nation charges out to spend their pent-up savings in beer gardens and outdoor cafes

Rob Burgeman, investment manager at financial planning firm Brewin Dolphin, says: ‘After so long shut inside, Brits are desperate to get out and about.’

He says pub chain Marston’s, which has now reopened 700 pubs across the UK, could be a good place to start. 

The firm was subject to bid interest last year, which Burgeman says could return, and he adds: ‘In the meantime, the company looks like an interesting play as Britons rediscover their love for their local.’

A £10,000 investment made five years ago would now be worth £8,008 with dividends reinvested. The same investment made just a year ago would be worth £23,595.

Burgeman adds: ‘Kingfisher, owner of B&Q in the UK, could also benefit as sales of awnings and other bits of outdoor furniture shoot through the roof.

‘The company has struggled over recent years, but a new chief executive is reinvigorating the business, and with beer garden barbecues and outdoor dining beckoning, the company could well be a beneficiary.’

A £10,000 investment in Kingfisher five years ago would now be worth £10,643, but the same investment made one year ago would now be worth £22,388.

Burgeman also tips mixer maker Fever-Tree Drinks, which would have turned £10,000 into £36,998 over the past five years, and leading spirit manufacturer Diageo – the firm behind Gordon’s Gin and Johnnie Walker whisky – which would have turned £10,000 into £18,468 over five years.

He adds: ‘Restaurant Group – which recently purchased the Wagamama chain – could also be a winner as people learn to love eating out again.’

A £10,000 investment in Restaurant Group five years ago would now be worth £5,659. If the same investment had been made last year, it would now be worth £21,236.

b.wilkinson@dailymail.co.uk

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