The Tracker—produced by CGA by NIQ has now recorded year-on-year growth for five consecutive months. However, the figure is substantially down from 10.1% in January and is well below the current rate of inflation in the UK.
 
Pubs performed the best of the Tracker’s three market segments to continue a solid start to 2023, with like-for-like sales 6.9% ahead of February 2022. Restaurants achieved modest growth of 1.9%but the bars segment continued to struggle, with sales down 10.1%.
 
Continuing the pattern of recent months, sales in London comfortably outpaced the rest of the country in February. The Coffer CGA Business Tracker shows sales within the M25 were 7.6% ahead year-on-year—well over twice the growth of 3.1% outside the M25.

Karl Chessell, director - hospitality operators and food, EMEA at CGA by NIQ, said: “Hospitality trading is now consistently ahead year-on-year, and consumers’ appetite for pubs in particular remains undimmed. That demand allows the sector to be optimistic when planning for the long term. However, the real issue the sector faces is the cost of doing business right now. It was therefore disappointing to hear about the lack of energy support in the budget. This risks the future of many businesses to survive this period of cost pressure and benefit from the positive demand that exists.”
 
Read more and download the full report here.