More than one million Londoners planning on calling in sick after World Cup matches could lead to a hit of at least £587 million for the city’s economy – but it could also be a potential boost for the capital’s long-suffering pubs, according to new research.

A survey from historic family brewing firm Allsopp’s found one in four (23%) people in London plan to pull a sickie after at least one World Cup match, equivalent to around 1.1 million workers. If each of them does that after every England group game that could rise to £1.8 billion – or £4.1 billion if the Three Lions reach the final.

On top of sickies, 39% of respondents admitted they don’t plan on ‘wasting’ annual leave to watch the World Cup, instead opting to ‘work from home’ after a late night. Unsurprisingly, half (50%) of Londoners think employers should be more relaxed with work start times.

Rather than staying at home or attending the tournament, 43% of those surveyed in the capital would rather watch from the pub with their friends, in a boost to the nation’s hospitality trade. In fact, one in five (20%) people said they would rather skip a game entirely than watch it alone at home.

To accommodate the late kick-off times, pubs can stay open until 01:00 for matches that start between 17:00 and 21:00 and until 02:00 for kick-offs between 21:00 and 22:00. England’s group matches start at 21:00 and 22:00 UK time.

Pubs are expecting a bumper trading period this summer thanks to the World Cup. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) estimates 55 million additional pints are likely to be poured if England make it to the final – an average of an additional 1,240 per venue.

Jamie Allsopp, re-founder of Allsopps, said: “While people pulling sickies to watch the World Cup and hungover staff working from home might not be great news for employers, the drive towards pubs has been sorely needed for the hospitality sector. This is going to be one of the biggest weekends ever for pubs, and it comes at a crucial time when VAT has been choking the industry and we’ve been calling for fairer rates.

“But what our research really shows is that people don’t just want to watch football – they want to watch it together, in a pub, with their mates. That’s not going anywhere and it’s particularly encouraging to see young people are keeping that spirit alive with their World Cup plans.”