Fri 27th Mar 2015 - UK accounts for 15 of Europe’s top 25 casual dining brands UK accounts for 15 of Europe’s top 25 casual dining brands: The UK foodservice sector currently accounts for 15 of Europe’s top 25 performing casual dining brands by sales, insights firm Horizons has reported. The UK brands in the list are: Nando’s (1), PizzaExpress (3), Frankie & Benny’s (5), Harvester (6), Hungry Horse (11), Beefeater (13), Toby Carvery (14), Prezzo (15), Carluccio’s (16), Ask (17), Zizzi (18), Jamie’s Italian (21), Wagamama (22) and Chiquito (23). The list includes TGI Friday’s at number seven, although this is credited as US-based. UK concepts take nine of the top 15 slots and has four brands in the top six. France is the next-best represented country with three brands in the top 15. UK concepts account for more than 50% of the total sales achieved by the top 25 European brands. Next comes France, followed by Germany and the US. Quick service brands such as McDonald’s, KC and Burger King, with a strong Europe-wide presence ,are not included in the list because they are not classed as casual dining brands. The top 25 casual dining brands account for 19% of total market share. Earlier this month Horizons managing director Peter Backman told the Propel Multi Club Conference that multi-site operators are set to take 60% UK market share in 2015. Multi-site foodservice companies, those with five or more outlets, will continue to tighten their grip on the sector at the expense of independents, he said. He added: “Group operators have really taken the market by storm.” Their proportion of the total UK market has risen from just over 40% in 2002 to almost 60% in 2015, he reported, and their market share will continue to climb to around 65% by 2019. Backman said Horizons tracked the fastest-growing emerging brands in the UK foodservice market, those which operate between five and 25 outlets and who have been growing at 20% or more over three years, and currently there are more than 130 brands in that segment. “That is the energy that drives the whole sector,” he said. On the same day, Casual Dining Group chief executive Steve Richards told the Propel conference that Bella Italia will be a brand with £200m of annual sales once expansion plans are completed, meaning it is likely to join the list of Europe top 25 casual dining brands. Backman has forecast value growth of more than £10bn for the UK’s foodservice sector by the end of 2019. He said that in 2014 the value of the foodservice sector saw a nominal growth (including inflation) of 3.8%, with real growth at 2.9%, giving it a current value of £46.6bn. “We expect the market to continue to grow over the next five years, and factoring in the impact of inflation, it is likely to reach a new value of £56.3bn by 2019,” he said.