Hospitality returns to outlet growth after solid first half of 2024: Britain’s hospitality sector has recorded its first quarter-on-quarter growth in outlets in two years, the new Hospitality Market Monitor from CGA by NIQ and AlixPartners reveals. The report shows a 0.5% increase in the number of licensed premises between March and June 2024, equivalent to 462 net new openings, or five per day. It is the first such increase since mid-2022 and only the third since the start of the covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. Second-quarter growth was even across the different sectors of hospitality and extended to the independent segment, where numbers increased by 0.5% to end several years of sustained closures caused by severe cost and covid-related pressures. The upward trend is in line with other positive indicators from 2024, including solid growth in sales as measured by CGA by NIQ’s Trackers, plus an easing of inflation and household bills. However, while quarter-on-quarter movements are positive, longer-term comparisons are weaker, with outlet numbers down by 1.0% or 969 from June 2023. Britain’s total sites are still 13.8% below the pre-covid figure of March 2020. The latest Hospitality Market Monitor from CGA and AlixPartners highlights particularly positive developments in the casual dining sector. After a rapid expansion of managed chain restaurants in the 2000s and 2010s, there were 6,696 casual dining sites at March 2020, but covid-19 and high inflation then saw the segment slashed by 24.1% to 5,082 sites by June 2023, a total of 1,611 net closures or just over one per day. However, the figure has risen by 1.7% in the last 12 months, with an average of three net new sites a week in the first six months of 2024. Karl Chessell, CGA by NIQ’s director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “These numbers are a welcome sign of the confidence of business leaders and investors in hospitality. 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. Cost pressures mean thousands of businesses remain fragile and millions of consumers’ discretionary spending continues to be tight, and hospitality may never fully return to its pre-covid size in outlet terms, but it’s clear that it is now back on a much surer path.” Graeme Smith, managing director at AlixPartners, added: “It is pleasing to see that with the easing of pressure around labour shortages, food and drink inflation and high energy prices, the Hospitality Market Monitor’s latest figures show the industry has responded with a return to outlet growth across the sector in the second quarter of this year. It’s especially encouraging to see such significant growth in the themed bar segment – a segment that includes both competitive socialising venues and bars with a particular theme – with a growth rate of 28.9% over the last 12 months. This has been driven by the continued popularity of experiential leisure and the demand from consumers to elevate their experiences when socialising out of home. The return to outlet growth reflects the stabilisation of the market and paints a more positive picture for businesses and investors alike, with this growth acting as a marker for the recovery of the industry. We expect to see this growth develop as confidence continues to rise in the second half of the year.” 

Next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality to feature 85 updated entries and seven new companies, released on Friday: The next Who’s Who of UK Hospitality will feature 85 updated entries and seven new companies when it is released to Premium Club members on Friday (23 August), at midday. The database now features 878 companies, and this month’s edition includes more than 237,000 words of content. The companies, listed in alphabetical order, will have their most recent results reported as well as broader information around Ebitda, plans and trading style available. The database merges Companies House information, interviews and other public information to provide an easy to reference and exhaustive guide to the sector. Premium Club members also receive access to five other databases: the Multi-Site Database, produced in association with Virgate; the New Openings Database; the Turnover & Profits Blue Book; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database and the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database. All Premium Clubs members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including the Talent and Training Conference (1 October), Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025) and Excellence in Pub Retail (May 2025). Operators that are Premium Club members are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club members receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club members will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club members also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Wingstop to open six more sites this year as it prepares to open 50th UK store: Wingstop, which is being rolled out here by Lemon Pepper Holdings and is currently seeking new investment, is to open six more shops this year, adding 300 new jobs to its 2,500-strong workforce, reports the Evening Standard. The company will open the outlets in Crawley, Ealing, Manchester, Lakeside, Whitechapel and Walthamstow. Lemon Pepper Holdings opened the first Wingstop outlet in the UK in 2018 since then it has grown to 50 restaurants, with the 50th location opening today (Monday, 19 August) in Bolton. Chris Sherriff, co-chief executive of Lemon Pepper Holdings, said: “Today is a significant day for Wingstop UK as we celebrate the incredible achievement of opening our 50th location in just under six years.” Mr Sherriff said the milestone reflected Wingstop’s “commitment to creating meaningful job opportunities”. He added: “It’s been incredibly rewarding to see so many individuals progress, taking on new challenges and advancing within the company.” Wingstop was founded in 1994 by entrepreneur Antonio Swad and has its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. The chain now has more than 2,200 franchise locations worldwide and claims it has served two million wings over the years. Wingstop UK said earlier this month that it is looking to sell its UK business. Sky News reported that the company, which is majority-owned by a trio of entrepreneurs who brought it to Britain in 2018, has hired Goldman Sachs to find new owners. One of its co-founders, Tom Grogan, last week said the company has “an ambitious pipeline of openings well into 2025”.

Universal in talks with UK officials about tax incentives to secure Bedford resort: Universal Destinations & Experiences, the theme parks business owned by US media giant Comcast, is in talks with UK officials about tax and other infrastructure incentives to secure a multibillion-pound resort for Bedford. Universal has already acquired about 500 acres of former brickworks as a potential site for Europe’s largest theme park, and people close to the project say Comcast’s decision on whether to give the scheme the green light would in part depend on talks with government officials over economic incentives to de-risk the building of the large park. They warned Comcast could yet explore other sites in Europe or elsewhere in the world, reports the Financial Times. The amount of incentives under discussion is not clear. Universal has estimated the park could generate close to £50bn of economic value to the UK in its construction and operation, and £14bn in taxes, over the first 20 years. Universal is now working with UK government officials over a potential package of tax and other investment incentives, according to two people close to the discussions, with a decision on whether to go ahead with the scheme expected before the end of the year. DCMS and Comcast declined to comment. New culture secretary Lisa Nandy last month wrote to Mohammad Yasin, Labour MP for Bedford and Kempston, saying she would meet executives from Universal soon to discuss the planned theme park. She said the proposed investment by Universal would be a “significant boost to both tourism and the creative industries” and could “transform the area, drive growth and create thousands of jobs”. She added that “this government intends to make it a priority to engage with businesses who are interested in making significant investments in the UK”.

Tourism lagging behind other industries in regaining pre-covid levels of activity: While other industries have regained pre-covid levels of activity, the tourism sector is lagging, research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research think tank suggests. Inbound visitor numbers rose in 2022 and 2023 but were still down on 2019. Numbers reached 38 million last year, well down on the 40.9 million recorded in 2019. Even for this year, the numbers will be down, with VisitBritain projecting inbound tourist numbers of 38.7 million for 2024, reports The Times. Spending is also sharply down in real terms. After adjusting for inflation, spending by overseas tourists is said to have fallen by 8% or £2.8b, compared with 2019. Comparing visitor numbers last year with pre-lockdown 2019, the cities with the biggest shortfalls were Brighton, down by 32%; Newcastle, down 26%; and Oxford, off 23%; while Bath is 22% lower. By contrast, tourist numbers are up in Liverpool, Edinburgh, Inverness and Manchester, albeit all at rates of less than 10%. The CEBR blamed the relatively poor showing on a “general cautiousness surrounding international travel”, resulting from unfavourable economic conditions, weak consumer confidence and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Across the Continent, visitor numbers to Britain’s main competitors are forecast to return to growth this year relative to before the pandemic. “This suggests that the UK is falling behind its closest competitors as a tourist destination,” the CEBR said. Competitiveness is the key factor cited by the think tank, with overall prices in Britain in 2024 running 23.5% higher than in 2019. Inflation in spending categories favoured by tourists was higher still: the cost of accommodation was 35.8% higher than in 2019, restaurants were 28.7% costlier, while air fares had rocketed by 47.6%, it said.

Job vacancies increase for the first time this year, sector demand down: Job vacancies have increased for the first time this year but demand in the sector is down, reports The Times. The number of job advertisements in Britain rose by 1.1% in July to 862,043, up from 852,703 in the previous month, according to Adzuna, the jobs search site. However, over the past year, vacancies have declined sharply by 18%. Adzuna said hospitality was one of the sectors where demand for workers was weakest, with roles down by 4.6%. “Optimism about the UK economy following higher-than-expected growth figures and a new government has extended into the jobs market, with the first monthly rise in job postings this year in July,” James Neave, head of data science at Adzuna, said. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics last week revealed that the rate of unemployment had fallen to 4.2% from 4.4%. Wages growth cooled to 5.4%, a near-two-year low, sparking speculation that the Bank of England could cut interest rates again at its next meeting on September 19 from the present level of 5%. Adzuna said that the number of jobseekers per vacancy had climbed to 2.09, the highest ratio since May 2021, suggesting that the increase in vacancies had been offset by a jump in available candidates. The jobs website said that average pay had stagnated over the past month at £38,863. On a regional basis, the West Midlands experienced the highest rate of salary inflation at 5.6% on an annual basis, reaching £37,291.

New law could see workers relentlessly contacted by their bosses outside of work hours entitled to compensation: Workers who are relentlessly contacted by their bosses outside of work hours could be entitled to compensation, as Labour pushes the ‘right to switch off’. Plans under consideration by the new government could help employees draw a line in the sand between their work and home life. The government is looking to push out a code of practice which sets out normal working hours and clarifies when an employee can expect to be contacted by their employer. The policy includes the right for workers to refuse to take on extra work on weekends or to carry out work-related tasks while on annual leave. Bosses who repeatedly breach this agreement could be taken to an employment tribunal. Although the out-of-hours contact would not warrant litigation on its own, employees could point to it as part of a wider claim against their employer. Such practice could increase the likelihood of a worker successfully winning their claim, according to The Times.