Wed 22nd Feb 2023 - Sector starts 2023 with fourth successive month of year-on-year growth, best January for three years Sector starts 2023 with fourth successive month of year-on-year growth as sales beat inflation in industry’s best January for three years: Britain’s managed pub, bar and restaurant groups achieved like-for-like sales growth of 10.9% in January 2023, the latest Coffer CGA Business Tracker reveals. The tracker – produced by CGA by NielsenIQ in partnership with The Coffer Group and RSM UK – has now recorded year-on-year growth (14.7%) for four months in a row and it was the industry’s best January for three years. January’s figure is also marginally ahead of the current 10.1% rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index. However, trading in January benefited from comparisons with early 2022, when some consumers stayed at home amid concerns about the Omicron variant of covid. High inflation means sales continue to lag pre-pandemic levels in real terms. Pubs carried the momentum they built over Christmas into 2023, with like-for-like sales 12.9% ahead of January 2022. Restaurant groups’ growth also reached double digits at 10.3%, but sales in the bars segment were down 3.1%. The tracker indicates a very strong month in London, as office workers and visitors continued their return to the capital. January sales within the M25 were 19.9% ahead of 2022 – more than twice the growth of 8.8% outside the M25. Karl Chessell, director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA at CGA by NielsenIQ, said: “These figures show consumers remain eager to eat and drink out despite the mounting pressure on disposable incomes. It’s particularly pleasing to see such a strong bounce back in London, where sales have been hit harder than in other cities by covid disruption. Optimism for 2023 must be tempered by ongoing concerns about fragile consumer confidence and the debilitating inflation that businesses face in energy, food, labour and other key costs. But while hospitality faces challenges in the months ahead, it remains a dynamic sector with a bright long-term future.” Mark Sheehan, managing director at Coffer Corporate Leisure, added: “These numbers are despite train strikes hitting trade severely. Consumers and workers have worked around strikes and trade has shown resilience.”