Food and drink sales in major cities return to growth

Restaurants, pubs and bars in Britain’s major city centres are achieving solid growth in sales from pre-Covid levels, according to new research from CGA and Wireless Social shows.

The joint ‘Top Cities’ report combines CGA’s sales data with device log-in data from Wireless Social, to provide a ‘vibrancy’ ranking of Britain’s 10 most populous cities over the four weeks to 7 May 2022.

It shows that nine of the 10 cities recorded higher sales over the four-week period than in the same period in 2019. Bristol tops the list of ‘most vibrant’ cities, and sales growth was also above 8% in Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow..

In addition, it said that in the longer run, Manchester and Liverpool achieved the highest sales growth since the start of the ‘Top Cities’ research in late 2021. These two cities have picked up where they left off before COVID, when CGA research showed hospitality was achieving some of its strongest sales growth and new openings there.

However, it added that log-in volumes in all 10 cities remain “well below” 2019—an indication that sales growth is being driven by higher spend and increased prices rather than by more frequency. The report also shows that London’s sales remain short of the levels of 2019, though with more commuters and tourists returning, the capital is “getting closer to growth”.

CGA client director, Chris Jeffrey, said: “After more than two years of turmoil, Britain’s biggest cities are getting back to their pre-Covid vibrancy. We continue to see a release of pent-up demand, especially for late-night dining and drinking, and the steady return of workers to offices has been a welcome boost.

“However, footfall remains some way off what might be expected at this time of year, and Covid issues have been swiftly followed by intense cost pressures on businesses and consumers alike. While the long-term outlook for city-centre hospitality is good, significant challenges lie ahead.”

Rankings for the four weeks to 7 May 2022. Numbers in brackets indicate position for the previous four weeks to 9 April 2022.

1 Bristol (5)

2 Glasgow (1)

3 Birmingham (2)

4 Manchester (3)

5 Leicester (4)

6 Liverpool (6)

7 Leeds (7)

8 Edinburgh (9)

9 Sheffield (10)

10 London (8)