Poor weather ‘good news’ for the managed restaurant sector in August

With beer gardens and terraces emptier than usual pubs recorded 4.9% growth, the latest Coffer CGA Business Tracker shows.

Overall the The Tracker - which is produced by CGA by NIQ in partnership with the Coffer Group and RSM UK - has now been in year-on-year growth for 11 months in a row but the overall figure for managed pubs, restaurants and bars is at its lowest point since March and has dipped slightly below the UK’s rate of inflation.

Bars continue to be the worst performing of the three segments in the Tracker, with sales down by 7.5% year-on-year.

For the 16th month in a row, London outpaced the rest of the UK for sales growth. Managed groups’ like-for-like sales within the M25 were 7.1% ahead in August, compared to 4.9% beyond the M25.

CGA collected sales figures directly from 85 leading managed groups for the latest edition of the Coffer CGA Business Tracker.

The restaurant groups supplying data include Azzurri Group, Rosa’s Thai, Wagamama and Rick Stein Restaurants.

“Against a backdrop of grey skies and cool temperatures, 5.3% growth represents a decent August for managed groups,” says Karl Chessell, director for hospitality operators and food, EMEA at CGA by NIQ. 

“However, persistent high inflation and the Tracker’s downward trajectory means year-on-year sales are marginally down in real terms. There are signs that consumer confidence may pick up as we move towards the crucial Christmas trading period, but high costs are going to make trading conditions difficult in hospitality for some time to come.”