Casual Dining Revival Spearheading Hospitality Growth

The number of hospitality establishments in the UK has grown for the first time in two years. Led by a rise in casual dining restaurants, the sector has experienced quarter-on-quarter growth, with 462 new openings between March and June.

After years of facing extremely challenging circumstances that resulted in almost 1000 closures over the last year alone, these figures are beginning to point in the right direction and provide tangible positivity for the resurgence of hospitality in the UK. NCASS welcomes this news and hopes these signs of recovery continue to blossom.

We celebrate the resilience of the sector and the determination of independent businesses to fight through challenges, but we are still calling on the government to do more to support the sector and particularly small and micro businesses.

For the first time in two years, there has been a growth in the number of pubs, restaurants, bars and hotels in the UK.

After what has been a period wrought with challenges for the hospitality sector over the past couple of years, this is a positive sign of the industry getting back on its feet. In particular, it is casual dining establishments that have experienced growth in numbers for the first time since Covid ground things to a halt in 2020.

The latest hospitality marketing monitor conducted by CGA by NIQ and AlixPartners purports there to be 99,207 licensed hospitality operators in business in the UK at the end of June – read more here.

These figures mean in the sector there have been 462 new openings between March and June – an average of five per day.

Impressive in isolation and pointing towards a more stable economic playing field where budding caterers feel more confident in starting up, these figures also confirmed the first quarter-on-quarter increase since 2022. Other reports have shown improved sales from industry firms and highlighted the impact of less pressure on household budgets.

Furthermore, the research shows there has been a 1.7% rise in the amount of casual dining restaurants over the past 12 months, with an average of three new sites opening per week over the past six months.

This comes as welcome news following what had been a turgid period for casual dining restaurants in which approximately 24% closed in the three years after Covid. The industry has been shrouded in doom and gloom for large parts of the past few years, and while there is still a way to go for the sector to return to pre-Covid heights, tangible growth in hospitality premises is clearly a positive development and hopefully a sign of more growth to come.

Karl Chessel, CGA by NIQ’s director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “While it’s too early to be sure that hospitality’s downward trend in outlets has bottomed out, alongside solid sales growth over the first half of 2024 these figures indicate the brightest outlook for the sector for some time.”

NCASS commented:

“It’s great to see the beginnings of some green shoots of recovery for the hospitality sector after several extremely difficult years for businesses. While the cost of living meant more discerning and frugal customers, sharp increases in operating costs coupled with higher borrowing costs and frozen tax thresholds have left many businesses struggling for survival or acting as ‘tax collectors’ handing 20% of gross revenue as Hot Food VAT for HMRC – while making little or no profit. Many business owners have struggled to see through the challenges of have been forced to close.

This is the good news, which we take it with caution, that many in the sector have been holding out for and while there is some way to go and there will always be bumps in the road. It is reassuring to hear that spending power and a willingness to do so is beginning to return to the economy.

Businesses that have adapted to the changing market conditions will be best placed to capitalise on a revitalised hospitality sector.

We are calling on government to back small and micro businesses:

To unleash the latent talent, innovation and entrepreneurship that exists across our sector (by adapting licencing and planning rules to enable more agile and innovative trading), to create jobs and revitalise our town and city centres.
To remove the barriers to growth baked into hospitality businesses by the punitive VAT threshold.
To lead from the front with decisive actions to build confidence for both the consumer and businesses to help restore what has been lost.

We will continue to support the sector of independent food and drink businesses with our products, services, and our collective voice to make it strong again.”