Cost of Living
Coverage explores the impact of economic pressures on consumer spending, staff retention, and operational costs across the UK hospitality sector. We report on inflation, wage demands, energy prices, and discretionary income trends, analysing how restaurants, pubs, caterers, and other operators are adapting pricing, staffing, and promotional strategies in response to shifting demand and household budgets.
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May- 2022 -26 MayRestaurants
Fridays owner set to double estate despite profit warning
Hostmore is set to expand its portfolio with the addition of three new sites in FY22, as it outlined its ambition to almost double its site locations from the current 89 over the medium term, subject to an improved trading environment. The owner of Fridays and 63rd+1st said this growth…
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Apr- 2022 -26 AprilApps & Technology
Delivery and takeaway sales slip as consumers return to eating out
Britain’s managed restaurant and pub groups’ delivery and takeaway sales fell 24% year-on-year after consumers resumed eating out, according to the CGA and Slerp Hospitality at Home Tracker. Groups’ combined delivery and takeaway sales in March 2022 were 119% higher than in March 2019. Three-year sales growth for deliveries stands…
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1 AprilGovernment
VAT rise to result in double-digit price increases, UKH warns
VAT in hospitality will rise from 12.5% to 20% on 1 April 2022, which UKH said “will result in double-digit price increases for consumers as operators struggle to survive” as the sector is forecasting cost inflation running at 18%. Recent business surveys show the industry is facing a 95% hike…
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Mar- 2022 -30 MarchFeatures
Sunak’s Spring Statement: What it means
“Businesses are going to be incredibly challenged to sustain themselves, having just begun some recovery after Covid,” reveals Lionel Benjamin, co-founder of AGO Hotels. The hospitality industry was already “decimated” by the Covid-19 pandemic and now, following Sunak’s announcement, the sector is being further burdened with VAT rates going back…
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25 MarchPubs and Bars
Weekend pub and bar transactions up 83% on pre-pandemic levels
Transaction volumes for pubs and bars over the weekend of 18-20 March were up 83.2% on the same weekend in 2019, according to data from Barclaycard Payments. Barclaycard said that transactions were also up 476.1% compared to the same weekend in 2020, the last weekend before the first Covid-19 lockdown).…
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23 MarchGovernment
Spring Statement: Chancellor raises NI threshold to £12,570
The chancellor has outlined a series of measures to help combat the rising cost of living in his latest spring statement, including increasing the national insurance threshold by £3,000. Speaking in parliament today (23 March), Rishi Sunak began his speech by warning it is yet unclear what the impact of…
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18 MarchAnalysis
13 Spring Statement predictions
With both the global and UK economies coming under pressure from the rising cost of living crisis, which has only been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, all eyes will be on the chancellor when he makes his Spring Statement speech on 23 March 2022. Here, Christy Wilson, tax associate…
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14 MarchRestaurants
Restaurant insolvencies rise to 354 in Q4
Restaurant insolvencies jumped by a fifth to 354 in the last quarter of 2021, rising from 296 in Q3, according to UHY Hacker Young, the national accountancy group. UHY Hacker Young said “despite the end of coronavirus restrictions, the sector faces considerable challenges”. The invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions…
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10 MarchTrade Associations
UK public support maintaining 12.5% VAT, UKH says
There is strong support amongst the public for VAT to remain at its current rate of 12.5% beyond April, according to a new study by YouGov commissioned by UKHospitality. Excluding those who didn’t give a view, only 21% believed the Government should stick with its current plan to increase VAT…
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Feb- 2022 -8 FebruaryBusiness
Consumer spending slows in January
Consumer card spending rose by only 7.4% in January compared to the same period in 2020, marking the smallest uplift since April 2021, as spending was dampened by ongoing Plan B restrictions, inflation, and rising energy costs. In light of this, hospitality and leisure spending swung to a decline last…
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