With liquidations soaring and six-figure debts making headlines, let’s look at the figures (and the bigger picture).
Prices are up everywhere (the cheese! the butter!). Across the country people have one eye on their bank statements and the other on fuel prices. Headlines about restaurant liquidations arrive each morning like clockwork. And yet… hospitality spend in May was up 3.5% on April. There are new openings every week and people are still going out. Some diners are choosing cheaper eateries, but others find mid-bracket restaurants comparable in price to takeaways, making them a tempting alternative. People are queuing outside cafes and kebab shops. Let’s take the temperature of the industry and see what the numbers…