Old English remains buoyant in spite of flooding closures

Flooding and bad weather at the end of last year severely affected sales at Old English Inns, the company said this week.

During November and December more than 20% of the group's inns were disrupted or damaged. Several are still closed and are not expected to reopen until next month.

"We are working with our insurers to quantify the insured damage on those sites where claims can be made," the company said in a statement.

"Several significant claims are unlikely to be settled during the current financial year."

There was better news for Old English over the Christmas period. In the five weeks to 31 December like-for-like sales (excluding inns closed by flooding) were up by 10.4%.

The company said the increase was driven by investment in its central reservations system, which helped increase accommodation sales.