April saw Britain’s managed restaurant, pub and bar groups achieve growth for the third month in row, according to the latest Coffer CGA Business Tracker from CGA, The Coffer Group and RSM, although taking inflation into account means sales are below pre-covid levels.
The 2% growth is also likely to be driven by rising menu prices, masking some of the early signs that consumers are feeling the pinch too and cutting back on discretionary spending.
Restaurants performed the strongest of the three sectors, with sales growth of 5%, while bars achieved 4% growth on the same month in 2019 and pub sales were flat.
Karl Chessell, director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA at CGA, said, “A third successive month of like-for-like sales growth shows managed restaurants, pubs and bars continue to build back after a very tough two years. However, any modest rises at the moment are being swallowed up by high inflation, and the Tracker’s dip from March to April suggests soaring prices might be starting to squeeze consumers’ spending. The worst of COVID-19 may be behind us now, but cost issues are going to put intense pressure on hospitality’s sales and margins for the foreseeable future.”