Pubs and restaurants 'continuing to battle recession'

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The recessionary climate in the UK is still affecting pubs and restaurants, although the hospitality and leisure sector is fighting hard and performing relatively well despite these conditions, according to the latest report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

It revealed that there were 1,464 insolvencies in the hospitality and leisure sector in the past 12 months, compared to 1,304 in the same period the year before, with the level of insolvencies falling steadily since Q1 2012.

Furthermore, London restaurants - often mooted as a relative success story in what has been a gloomy few years for the sector - saw the highest number of insolvencies in the third quarter of 2012 with 59 sites going out of business.

David Chubb, PwC business recovery partner and hospitality and leisure specialist, said that pubs and restaurants have enjoyed "a good quarter" overall.

"They continue to combat drops in discretionary spend by enticing consumers with promotions like set menu vouchers, happy hours, and multi buy deals," he added.

However, the PwC specialist warned that there is a tendency for increasingly bargain-conscious consumers to take advantage of voucher deals without spending on additional courses or drinks, meaning offers may make less economic sense than they did originally.

Although a drop in leisure spending is likely to continue affecting restaurants across the UK, catering equipment supply companies and other businesses are to remain busy as eating out continues to be "a key component of consumers spending", explained Mr Chubb.

He concluded that pubs appear to have not been affected as seriously by the recession, with several good news stories indicating that the sector can continue to grow over the coming months.

However, consumer spending is likely to be damaged further over the next few years, with conservative chancellor George Osborne announcing today that further measures will be taken in the next budget to cut the UK's deficit. ADNFCR-16001031-ID-801465146-ADNFCR

Pubs and restaurants 'continuing to battle recession'

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