While September sales soar, challenges remain for managed restaurants

Britain's leading managed restaurants, pubs and bars enjoyed a boost in sales throughout September, according to the latest data from the Coffer CGA Business Tracker.

The Tracker, developed in partnership with The Coffer Group and RSM, analysed data from 55 managed groups, revealing that total sales increased by 8% compared to pre-pandemic levels from September 2019, and were 42% higher than figures from September 2020, when UK businesses were forced to operate under strict lockdown restrictions. 

It marks the second successive month of year-on-year increases, with both restaurants and pubs recording total sales growth of 8%. While pubs saw a notable surge of 3% in August this year, bars have proved to be the most successful given the easing of restrictions on the late-night sector in July.

September trade was elevated as consumers gained confidence in safety as the UK government's vaccination programme gained traction, as well as by the good weather experienced across most of the country and increased participation in 'staycations'.

However, there was a clear discrepancy between London, where sales declined by 1% on September 2019, and the rest of the country, where they were up 12%. This suggests that hospitality in the capital continues to be impacted by a shortage of office workers and tourists. 

Other issues that continue to affect the sector include supply chain disruption and inflation. The Tracker also highlights the long-term impact of the pandemic, with managed groups' rolling 12-month sales to the end of September 2021 down by 10% on the previous 12 months. 

Karl Chessell, director at CGA, commented: "These figures demonstrate the resilience of managed restaurants, pubs and bars in the face of strong headwinds, and show consumers' appetite for eating and drinking out remains high.

"However... Many businesses remain under severe pressure from operational issues and debts, and they deserve targeted and sustained government support to sustain their recovery."

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