Half of UK adults concerned chains are taking over

That’s according to a survey of 2,000 people commissioned by supply ordering app GoKart. which also showed diners’ have a strong preference for indies with over half of respondents saying that they would rather support local businesses than multi-site operators.

However it should be noted that the questions were somewhat leading in nature, with respondents asked to agree or disagree with the following statement: “When eating out, I prefer to go to independent establishments instead of larger chains because I want to support these smaller local businesses”.

37% of consumers have seen one or more of their favourite local independent restaurants shutting down in the past 12 months, while 43% are concerned Brexit and the weakening pound will result in more restaurant closures and higher meal prices.

According to the study, 42% of people believe the UK Government should limit the number of national or multi-national chain restaurants opening on the UK’s high streets.

“While the closures impacting big restaurant chains might dominate the headlines, today’s research shows that the UK public is actually more concerned with the fate of their local independent high street outlets,” says GoKart CEO and founder Anx Patel. “Indeed, it is positive to see that over half of UK adults are willing to support their local restaurants.”