January sales stand up for pub and restaurant groups

Like-for-likes sales up 0.6 per cent nationally, against January 2017

Britain’s managed pub and restaurant chains saw collective like-for-like sales come out slightly ahead in January, despite the doom and gloom stories surrounding the eating-out market. Latest figures from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker, the sector’s established sales barometer, showed a 0.6 per centincrease on the same month last year.

While restaurant groups across the country collectively recorded flat trading – up 1.0 per cent in London and down 0.3 per cent outside the M25 – managed pub operators were ahead 1.0 per cent nationally, driven mainly by drink-led businesses.

London traded better than the rest of Britain in January, with collective like-for-like sales ahead 1.6 per cent compared to 0.4 per cent outside the capital. Managed pubs in London were up 2.0 per cent.

“A string of site closures announced by some of the sector’s more high profile casual dining brands has done little to bolster confidence in the sector lately, but these latest figures suggest that overall the market remains relatively stable. People are continuing to go out to eat and drink,”’ said Phil Tate, chief executive of CGA, the business insight consultancy that produces the Tracker, in partnership with Coffer Group and RSM.

“But that doesn’t disguise the fact that the market is experiencing increasing cost pressures on a number of fronts and that competition is intense. Consumers have more choice than ever. Brands that may have over extended themselves are now feeling the pain,” Tate added.