Rise in hospitality sales 'swallowed up' by high inflation

Britain's managed restaurant, pub and bar groups saw a 2% rise in sales in April, though inflation continued to hamper growth.

Like for like sales compared to April 2019 rose 5% in restaurants and 4% in bars, while sales in pubs were flat, according to the CGA Business Tracker.

But with compound inflation since 2019 so far exceeding 2%, real-terms sales were still below pre-pandemic levels.

Trading in London lagged behind the rest of the country, with sales 2% down on 2019 while the rest of the country reported growth of 3%.

Karl Chessell, director - hospitality operators and food, EMEA at CGA, said: "A third successive month of like-for-like sales growth shows managed restaurants, pubs and bars continue to build back after a very tough two years.

"However, any modest rises at the moment are being swallowed up by high inflation, and the Tracker's dip from March to April suggests soaring prices might be starting to squeeze consumers' spending.

"The worst of Covid-19 may be behind us now, but cost issues are going to put intense pressure on hospitality's sales and margins for the foreseeable future."

Companies which participate in the Tracker include BrewDog, Bill's Restaurants, Nando's, Prezzo and Stonegate Group.

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