Food pub openings up by 9%
There was a 4.4% decline in drink-led pubs and bars for the year ending June 2015, while the overall growth in restaurant sites reached 6.9% and branded food pub openings grew by 9%, according to the New Market Growth Monitor from AlixPartners and CGA Peach.
A total of 1,770 new restaurants opened in the past 12 months, the report claimed.
Demand for quality food and drinks was the main driver of the openings, said Paul Hemming, managing director of Alix Partners.
“The proliferation of branded eating-out concepts to relatively new destinations, and its obvious implications for the independent operator cohort, is a picture that chimes with what we hear in the market place anecdotally, through the business with which we work,” Hemming added.
‘Clear desire for quality food’
Food on the up
The proliferation of branded eating-out concepts to relatively new destinations, and its obvious implications for the independent operator cohort, is a picture that chimes with what we hear in the market place anecdotally
- Source: report
“It is clear that the desire for quality food and bar offerings has spread across the country. Many of our clients are taking advantage of this new market and are finding the combination of strong demand and – typically – lower rent is delivering highly attractive ROI [return on investment].”
For the first time, the number of licensed restaurants outstripped the number of drink-led community pubs (27,500 against 26,700), he added.
The number of suburban pubs serving food grew by 5.2% for the 12 months ending June, which wasn’t far behind the urban growth rate, according to the report.
“Regionally, Greater London remains the growth engine. Total numbers grew by 3.3%, with food-led businesses up 6.9%,” it said.
“The proliferation of branded eating-out concepts to relatively new destinations, and its obvious implications for the independent operator cohort, is a picture that chimes with what we hear in the market place anecdotally, through the business with which we work,” it added.
Businesses taking advantage
The desire for quality food and bar offerings had spread across the country, with many businesses taking advantage.
Meanwhile, Newcastle Upon Tyne placed sixth on AlixPartners and CGA Peach’s top 10 list of cities with the most restaurant openings (see table below).
About 18 new venues opened in the city in the 12 months ending June 2015, which was 4.9% up on the same period last year and 15.9% up on 2010.
Newcastle’s pub scene was said to have “transformed” over the years, leading industry commentators said ahead of The Publican’s Morning Advertiser’s latest MA300 event. The event will take place this Thursday (24 September) and features a raft of top speakers for multi-site operators.
Places are limited. To book your two free operator tickets call Jo Horton on 01293 610 403 or email Joanne.Horton@wrbm.com
View the current list of speakers here
City centres in food-serving venue growth
Position | City | Net new sites | Annual change | Five-year change |
1 | Leicester | 18 | 8.5% | 13.2% |
2 | Bristol | 10 | 6.5% | 2.5% |
3 | Birmingham | 20 | 5.9% | 11.8% |
4 | Leeds | 18 | 5.8% | 18.8% |
5 | Glasgow | 25 | 5.2% | 8.9% |
6 | Newcastle Upon Tyne | 18 | 4.9% | 15.9% |
7 | Cardiff | 10 | 4.9% | 25% |
8 | York | 11 | 4.4% | 17.5% |
9 | Liverpool | 15 | 4.3% | 17.7% |
10 | Sheffield | 9 | 4.2% | 1.8% |
