Glasgow restaurants will survive

Despite the recent spate of restaurant closures in Glasgow, there is no crisis in its restaurant sector, say industry leaders.

According to David Reid, director for Glasgow at property agent Christie & Co, the Glasgow market is in very good condition

He attributes the recent closures of several restaurants in the city to sites being too large and people spending too much money opening them.

"Big isn't beautiful in Glasgow," said Reid, who thinks for a restaurant to succeed in Glasgow, it has to be small and personal.

Another reason that some restaurants had proved ill-fated, said Reid, was because people thought a concept that worked well in London would work well in Glasgow. Reid pointed out that the two markets were entirely different. In Glasgow most business is done from Thursday through to Saturday, he said, whereas in London trading is strong the whole week through.

"Its not all doom and gloom," he said. "In the last five years there has been a lot of growth in Glasgow and there are bound to be a few casualties."

"People who have the big sites seem to be the ones who are going to suffer," he said.

Alan Tomkins, chairman of the Glasgow Restaurateurs Association and owner of three restaurants in the city, said Glasgow was still a very vibrant market and he was hopeful for the future.

"Glasgow has been a very busy place, " he said. "I'm optimistic we are going to have a busy year this year."

He felt there was more room for growth in the Glasgow market, but added that there would always be some people who came out on top and others who would fail.