Managed groups register 12 months of growth after September warms pub sales, cautious optimism for strong final quarter and festive season: Britain’s managed restaurant, pub and bar groups completed 12 consecutive months of year-on-year sales growth in September, the new CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker reveals, with “cautious optimism” for a strong final quarter and festive season. The tracker, produced by CGA by NIQ in partnership with RSM UK, indicated like-for-like growth of 5.9% last month – close to both the tracker’s August figure of 5.3% and the general rate of inflation in the UK. Above-average temperatures in many parts of the country made it a strong month for pubs, where sales grew 8.6% as many consumers enjoyed visits to beer gardens and terraces. Growth in the restaurants sector was a little lower at 4.8%, while bars had another challenging month, with sales down 8.9%. Groups’ year-on-year performance has been better in London than the rest of the country since September 2022, and sales growth within the M25 again beat the average at 6.1%. However, with trading beyond the M25 up 5.8% last month, the gap between the two regions has closed.Karl Chessell, director – hospitality operators and food EMEA at CGA by NIQ, said: “A cool August made for a good month for restaurants, but better weather in September flipped the fortunes in favour of pubs. Overall growth of 5.9% represents another solid performance for managed groups, and shows consumers remain eager to eat and drink out. Ongoing high inflation and interest rates continue to make conditions difficult for many businesses and consumers alike, but we can be cautiously optimistic about a strong final quarter and festive season.”

No-shows in hospitality double in a year, costing sector £17.59bn in lost revenue: The number of consumers not showing up for their reservations in pubs, bars and restaurants has doubled since September last year, the latest research from Zonal and CGA by NIQ reveals. It shows a significant 12% of consumers are not honouring their reservations or informing venues in advance that they need to cancel. The findings highlight the financial impact that not turning up has on the industry – costing it £17.59bn per year in lost revenue alone – with the damage is even greater once wasted food and staff costs are taken into account. Restaurants are the most severely impacted as they experience 27% of the cancellations across the industry. Following the launch of the #ShowUpForHospitality campaign spearheaded by Zonal in September 2021, the percentage of hospitality customers booking but not turning up dropped from 14% at launch to 6% by September 2022. A further 12 months on, consumers appear to have fallen back into old habits as rates of no-shows have significantly increased once more. Olivia FitzGerald, chief sales and marketing officer at Zonal, said: “These latest insights show that no-shows are still very much an issue facing the industry and it is a costly one. We launched our #ShowUpForHospitality campaign in 2021 in order to shine a light on this issue and change consumer behaviours, as well as start an industry discussion as to how best to combat this long-standing problem. While the industry has made significant steps to reduce these figures, there is still work to be done. We want to again bring the industry together to raise awareness of the issue, share knowledge on how to mitigate the problem and encourage customers to always show up for hospitality and help support their local pubs, bars and restaurants.” CGA by NIQ client director Andy Dean added: “While customers might think missing a reservation is only a minor inconvenience for the venue and staff, the wider connotations need to be emphasised to customers so they appreciate the need to show up for hospitality, support the industry and the workers within it.”

Consumers significantly reduce frequency of ordering delivery or having a takeaway: Consumers have significantly reduced the frequency of ordering delivery or having a takeaway, according to new research by Mintel. It found just a quarter (24%) of Brits are ordering delivery or having a takeaway once a week or more in 2023, compared with 30% in 2021. Francesca Smith, senior consumer and lifestyles analyst at Mintel, said: “Cash-strapped Brits are looking for more special out-of-home experiences or meals prepared at home to save money. Rising costs and relentless consumer demand for free delivery and meal deals mean many delivery operators in this sector will have to work harder to maintain trading levels and protect their profit margins. Instead, Brits are increasingly turning to ready-to-cook meals, sales of which are set to increase 41% between 2022-23 to reach an estimated £301m. Similarly, frozen ready meals are expected to grow 16.5% between 2022-23 to reach an estimated £649m.”