Analyst Charles Wilson at Bridgewell Securities said pubs would benefit from the World Cup to varying degrees.

"The obvious pub groups that will benefit are ones with sports bars, like Regent Inns, with its Walkabout bars, which have a reputation for staging big sports events," he said.

"We could see an uplift in like-for-likes (sales) of around 10 percent for those four weeks," he added.

By contrast, high street operator Wetherspoon has been criticised for failing to capitalise on the event, and at one point there were doubts it would be able to install televisions in all its venues in time.

"All the screens will be installed now," said a spokesman. "But the sound will be turned off, and it's still up to each manager whether they show the World Cup."

Altium's Feehely said Wetherspoon was likely to fare better than at the last World Cup, with sales remaining broadly flat, having taken a dip four years earlier.

The London-based Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates that if England reaches the semi-finals, sales in pubs, clubs and liquor stores would be boosted by 285 million pounds -- a 1 per cent increase in annual revenues.

"This spending will be slightly less if England go out of the tournament at an earlier stage," it added.