UK Hospitality growth slowing yet “Delivery and Coffee & Sandwich operators continue to outperform the market”

Hospitality sales grew 1.6% year-on-year in the 12 weeks ending 1 October 2024, with growth softening to just 0.4% in the latest 4 weeks, according to analysis from HDI, the leading provider of card spending insight and pricing data to the UK hospitality sector.

Independents & Smaller Players are now the best performing sector, with these operators which represent just over a fifth of the market, bucking the general trend of softening sales performance.

Delivery and Coffee & Sandwich operators continue to outperform the market across all time periods, whilst Fast Food & Takeaway sales are now underperforming slightly versus the market overall.

Mark Bentley, business development director at HDI, said: “It’s been a tough summer for hospitality operators, with August being the wettest August for more than 20 years, dampening hopes of Pubs, Bars & Restaurants to be able to make the most of their outdoor spaces.

“With inflationary pressures easing, headline market growth rates are now looking much more subdued, with several sectors seeing sales declines in the latest 4 weeks. All eyes now are on the imminent budget, with the hope that this can provide the sector with a degree of stability for the months and years ahead.”