Losses at top 100 UK restaurants groups up 112% New figures reveal that losses at the top-earning 100 UK restaurants group increased 112% to £571m last year, rising from reported losses of £269m at the end of last March.
According to accountancy group UHY Hacker Young, which has published the findings, these losses only run up to the start of the latest national lockdown and therefore are expected to worsen again in the coming months as a result of restaurants across the country currently being forced to remain shut.
As a result of the enforced closures and restrictions, restaurants have become reliant on home delivery services like Deliveroo and Uber Eats over the past year to generate sales and stay afloat.
Branded restaurants experienced a 16.6% outlet decline in 2020, according to research from Lumina Intelligence’s Operator Data Index.
With the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic exacerbating existing issues in the branded restaurant space many mid-market chains that had been struggling to maintain relevance for several years closed sites last year, as more customers turned to smaller differentiated operators.
More than 20 groups and operators entered Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) or insolvency proceedings in 2020, with large periods of lockdown and subsequent strict capacity restrictions to contain the Coronavirus heavily impacting the sector.
Overall the branded casual dining segment of the UK eating out market experienced a 6.8% outlet decline in 2020.
Loungers chairman and co-founder Alex Reilley expects the end of the lease forfeiture and debt enforcement moratoria in March will lead to a 'phenomenal glut' of CVAs across hospitality.
Local authorities are losing tens of millions of pounds supporting struggling business tenants through the pandemic which could have dire and long-lasting consequences for local services, Sky News has found.
14 Jan 2021, 08:59Comments (1)
The pandemic has drastically changed the way people interact with retailers,
writes Dan Sweeney of TLT.
However, this does not necessarily mean a reduced focus on physical stores.
With many stores closed for long periods of time, there has been a significant increase in online shopping. The British Retail Consortium’s latest figures show sales rose by 0.9% in November, against a decline of 0.9% in November 2019, with online sales up 47.2%, against a growth of 0.3% in November 2019.
The pandemic is fast-tracking the trend we have seen previously of retailers re-thinking how they might use space to support the rest of their business, and that is going to have some interesting consequences for everyone in the retail ecosystem.