UK informal eating out market to reach £52b this year
The UK informal eating out market is set to outperform the rest of the retail and hospitality sectors, with 3% annual growth to reach £52b by the end of 2012.
According to Allegra's Eating Out in the UK 2012 report, the informal eating out market is being driven by consumers dining out more frequently as well as continued expansion and price inflation.
Long-term growth prospects remain positive with increased spend, supported by a drop in inflation forecasting the sector to grow to £65b by 2017 at a compound annual growth rate (CGAR) of 4.9%.
The report found that the 226,350 outlet-strong sector is dominated by fast food, with Subway leading expansion at 134 new stores, followed by Dominos with 102 new sites.
McDonald's is the biggest group in terms of turnover, followed by Yum! Brands, with KFC and Pizza Hut, while at an average of £50,000 per week, Jamie Oliver's high street restaurant chain Jamie's Italian is the brand with the highest sales per outlet.
According to the report, consumers are eating out more frequently than they were a year ago, with the average number of lunchtime restaurants visits per month up from 4.1 in 2011 to 4.2 in 2012, and dinner visits up to 2.7 per month from 2.4 last year. While lunchtime spend is down from £7.34 in 2011 to £7.07 in 2012, dinner spend is up from £13.11 to £14.37.
Nearly two-thirds of consumers (62%) regularly use discounting vouchers when eating out, with a third using them most of the time.
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By Kerstin Kühn
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