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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Feb- 2025 -18 FebruaryCafes and Coffee Shops
Costa Coffee invests in baristas with 5% pay boost
Costa Coffee has announced that it will increase pay rates by 5% from 1 April 2025 for over 15,000 team members in its 1,500 UK company-owned stores following an £8m investment. The investment raises the starting national pay rate for Costa’s baristas to £12.60 per hour, from £12 per hour.…
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Jan- 2025 -23 JanuaryPubs and Bars
The Revel Collective sees strong Christmas sales but warns of £4m Budget impact
The Revel Collective has reported “robust” festive trading but has warned that the changes announced in the annual Budget will have a £4m impact on its annual profit. For the weeks from 7 December 2024 to 3 January 2025, the group saw its group like-for-like sales increase by 1.6%. Prebooked…
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14 JanuaryFeatures
How will businesses deal with increased costs in 2025?
Since chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget those in the hospitality industry have been bracing for a year of increased costs. The question on everyone’s lips as we enter 2025 is what effect these changes will actually have on the industry and how the industry will go about combatting them. How…
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13 JanuaryNews
Consumer confidence rebounds as dining out surges in November
Consumer confidence recovers as 75% of people have gone out to eat in November 2024, CGA by NIQ’s latest On Premise Consumer Pulse Report revealed. The research, which provides suppliers and operators with insights into consumers’ latest habits and priorities, indicates that 92% visited the On Premise in November, up by…
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Aug- 2024 -28 AugustCatering Companies
Contract caterers achieve 10% sales growth in Q2
Contract caterers saw sales rise by 10% in Q2, marking its 13th quarter of growth in a row and an improvement rate of 7% recorded in the first quarter of this year, according to CGA by NIQ and Bidfood. Meanwhile, growth in moving annual total (MAT) sales – compared to…
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20 AugustBusiness
Hospitality insolvencies rise 13% in June
The number of hospitality businesses entering insolvencies has risen by 13% between May and June this year, as operators struggle with trading costs, according to Buchler Phillips’ Hospitality Index. Overall, the number of hospitality insolvencies rose by 1.41% in the first half of 2024, as some 1,801 accommodation and food…
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Jul- 2024 -31 JulyTrade Associations
UKH calls new LPC 2025 remit ‘disruptive and unhelpful’
UKHospitality has called changes to the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) remit for 2025 “disruptive and unhelpful”, claiming that wages rates must strike an “affordable balance to help deliver growth for both businesses and staff”. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has ordered the LPC to factor in the future cost of living…
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8 JulyNews
Today’s news in brief – 08/07/24
Insolvencies of pubs and bars have jumped 30% in a year, according to data from UHY Hacker Young. For the year ended 30 April 2024, pub and bar insolvencies continued to rise over the last year with fewer and fewer people willing or able to pay an average of £4.75…
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8 JulyPubs and Bars
Slug and Lettuce posts pre-tax loss of £3.1m
Slug and Lettuce has reported a pre-tax loss of £3.1m for the 12-month period to September 2023 after the bar chain initially recorded profits of £2.2m in 2022. Slug and Lettuce has attributed its performance to revenues inching down from £48.6m to £48.5m due to “the impact of the macroeconomic…
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Jun- 2024 -12 JuneRestaurants
Fat Duck parent company posts pre-tax loss of £1.4m
Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck Group posted a pre-tax loss of £1.4m for the year ended 28 May 2023. In documents filed on Companies House SL6 Ltd, the parent company of Fat Duck and the Hinds Head pub in Bray saw a dip in turnover from £11.5m in 2022 to £9.5m…
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