Casual Dining
We report on the business of casual dining, a key segment of the UK foodservice sector encompassing high-street restaurant brands, all-day dining concepts, and accessible, mid-market hospitality. This includes our coverage of openings, closures, financial results, menu innovation, tech integration, and leadership moves across the casual dining space. Whether you’re managing a national chain or operating a regional brand, we deliver timely insight into the pressures, pivots, and opportunities shaping this highly competitive market, with a focus on operational performance, consumer trends, and commercial sustainability.
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Nov- 2020 -12 NovemberFood and Drink
Casual Dining show postponed until September 2021
The Casual Dining trade show, which was set to take place in March next year, has been postponed amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and government restrictions. The event, which is dedicated to the casual dining sector, will now take place between 23-24 September 2021 at ExCeL London, its organiser Diversified…
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6 NovemberPeople
Pizza Express names new chairman and group chief exec
Pizza Express has announced that Allan Leighton and David Campbell have been appointed as chairman and group chief executive. Along with the appointments, Pizza Express revealed the completion of its recapitalisation, giving the company a “strong balance sheet and significant funds to invest in growth in the years ahead”. The…
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Sep- 2020 -28 SeptemberRestaurants
Gusto CVA approved, 600 jobs saved
Italian restaurant chain Gusto is to go ahead with its CVA plans, which it said secures the future of the business and more than 600 jobs. Amid the “most challenging trading conditions seen for the casual dining sector in a generation”, the firm said the CVA was “overwhelmingly” supported by…
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14 SeptemberCoronavirus
A quarter of licensed premises yet to reopen
Nearly a quarter of licensed premises were yet to reopen at the end of August, according to the latest market recovery monitor from CGA and AlixPartners. Its latest data found that the London market was “particularly slow” to recover, while only 76.3% of sites have returned to trading since the…
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14 SeptemberComment
The green initiative overlooked by the hospitality industry
The hospitality industry has a significant role to play if the UK is to achieve its ambitious recycling targets, and to this end there are many carbon reduction measures catering businesses have adopted in recent years. With the media spotlight on the problem of waste packaging, and food waste becoming of…
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Aug- 2020 -19 AugustRestaurants
Pizza Express to close 73 sites, 1,100 jobs at risk
Pizza Express has formally launched a CVA in a bid to reduce its restaurant estate and rental cost base following the pandemic. The CVA proposal will see the permanent closure of 73 restaurants, resulting in a loss of 1,100 jobs. The casual dining chain first announced it had reached an…
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17 AugustRestaurants
Yo Sushi to axe 250 jobs following CVA
Yo Sushi has announced it will shutter 19 sites and axe 250 jobs in a bid to restructure the business following the crisis. The move comes after the dining group launched a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) in light of “changes in consumer behaviour” that have made its rents “unsustainable” across…
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13 AugustPubs and Bars
Hospitality sales halve in July
Managed pub, restaurant and bars saw total July sales down 50.4% against the year before, according to the latest data from CGA’s Coffer Peach Business Tracker. While the overall market reported trading that was “well below” July 2019 levels, the London market “struggled” the most, with London trading down 58.3%…
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10 AugustRestaurants
22,000 restaurant jobs lost so far in 2020, double 2019 total
The number of jobs lost across the embattled restaurant and casual dining sector so far this year is already nearly double the amount shed during the whole of 2019. Figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research show so far a total 22,039 jobs were lost across large restaurant groups…
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10 AugustCoronavirus
Pubs ahead of restaurants in reopenings, says CGA
The pattern of reopening across hospitality sites has been “uneven” since lockdown eased, according to the latest Market Recovery Monitor from CGA and AlixPartners. Some 62% of Britain’s licensed premises were trading again by the end of July, though pubs were ahead of restaurants, and sites in London “lagged behind…
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