The fundamentals of Britain’s strengthening economy are favouring restaurants right now, particularly full-service restaurants and pubs. These sit-down eateries appear to be benefiting not only from improving consumer confidence and customers’ increasing willingness to spend, but also from people’s growing interest in new flavours.

In my view, full-service restaurants can keep their winning streak going by keeping up their culinary innovation and by expanding their offerings at lunchtime to better fit with British consumers’ more on-the-go lifestyles.

But first, let me share some of the tailwinds driving restaurants’ recent performance. According to the Office for National Statistics, British households increased their average expenditures for restaurants by 3.3% in the first quarter of 2015, compared with a year earlier.

Technomic’s own UK Consumer Survey for 2015 also reveals some cautious optimism among British restaurant goers. In each group of respondents covering those age 25 to 64, at least half of consumers plan to hold their number of visits to restaurants steady this year, and at least one in five respondents plan to increase their trips to restaurants.

However, many people will still be mindful of how much they spend each time they go out to eat. When asked to describe their spending habits in Technomic’s survey, 30% replied, “I am still mindful of my spending but starting to treat myself,” and 11% replied, “I am not actively saving money more than I was in the past.” But slightly more than one-fourth of consumers (27%) said, “I am on a careful budget,” while 19% responded “I am more focused on saving and have cut out more non-essentials.” Finally, 13% of British consumers reported, “I am buying only necessities.”

This macroeconomic improvement and cautiously optimistic consumer sentiment has led to a 6% increase in annual turnover for brands in the Top 100 UK Chain Restaurant Report. Interestingly, full-service chains finished last year slightly better than limited-service brands in terms of turnover and outlet growth. Full-service restaurants had annual sales growth of 6.1% and outlet growth of 4.4%, compared with 5.9% turnover growth and 4.2% outlet growth for limited-service chains.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

View profiles in store

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData

Submit

UK USA Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Côte d"Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Réunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and The South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates US Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam British Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Kosovo

Industry * Academia & Education Aerospace, Defense & Security Agriculture Asset Management Automotive Banking & Payments Chemicals Construction Consumer Foodservice Government, trade bodies and NGOs Health & Fitness Hospitals & Healthcare HR, Staffing & Recruitment Insurance Investment Banking Legal Services Management Consulting Marketing & Advertising Media & Publishing Medical Devices Mining Oil & Gas Packaging Pharmaceuticals Power & Utilities Private Equity Real Estate Retail Sport Technology Telecom Transportation & Logistics Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Venture Capital

Tick here to opt out of curated industry news, reports, and event updates from Just Food.

Submit and download

Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Even with slightly higher price points, full-service restaurants and pubs are capturing consumer traffic and spending, likely due to customers’ interest in ethnic flavours. Among Top 100 brands, collective sales growth in 2014 was 14.4% for full-service Mexican chains and 10.6% for full-service Asian brands. The bar and grill segment also reported robust turnover growth, with a 13.5% increase for 2014. The varied menus of those restaurants include bold, ethnic offerings like the Peri Peri Marinated Half Chicken at Bill’s and the Falafel Burger and Harissa-Spiced Chicken Burger at Loungers, two of the fastest-growing full-service chains in the Top 100 report.

I believe sit-down restaurants and pubs have room for more sales expansion. Beyond continued innovation around emerging ethnic flavours, opportunity exists in the lunch daypart, where full-service chains often cede market share to limited-service competitors.

But the time is right for full-service brands to develop more flavourful sandwiches and handheld items, in order to bolster their carryout business and to attract more time-pressed consumers. “Food on the go” will be an important theme in the foodservice business this year, and pubs and full-service chains have the culinary know-how to cater to customers’ on-the-go lifestyles.