“City sophisticates” will dominate the Night Tube and give a boozy £71m boost to the economy, according to new research
There's something of the night about City workers, according to new research.
Researchers at CACI International have put their heads together to work out just how much the hotly anticipated Night Tube will bring in to London's boozing economy.
The white paper, "Mind the Gap", has found that London would see a staggering £71m boost to it's late-night economy if revellers who normally leave on the last tube could stay for just one more pint.
Read more: Night Tube is go: All the details of London's first 24-hour service
Not surprisingly, researchers know City slickers only too well and are counting on them making good use of the Night Tube.
The Square Mile has been tippled as one of TfL's biggest money-makers. The areas most likely to benefit from footfall and spending when the service launches are Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Tottenham Court Road in the West End, followed by Liverpool Street and Bank.
Following the news that blue-blooded Richmond MP Zac Goldsmith is partial to a late night drinking game, CACI is pegging its hopes on "City Sophisticates" – a group which "tend to live in areas such as Balham, Clapham, Earl’s Court and West Kensington with a high propensity to dine and drink away from home". Researchers say suited workers will be the biggest users of the service.
Nielsen Harrap, Consulting Partner, Leisure, CACI said: “The launch of the Night Tube on the 19 August will be a huge boost to London’s late-night economy."
Read more: How brands getting to grips with the crazy phenomenon of predrinks
Perhaps the best illustration of the potential impact is demonstrated using the humble pint: if all our late-night revellers who are currently leaving on the last tube, buy just one extra pint – at an average price of £3.92 – this would equate to a massive £71m of additional expenditure for the London late-night weekend economy.”
Mind you, if the bills racked up by City boys this year are anything to go buy, The Capitalist suspects this could go into the trillions…