Eating out sector set to grow again in 2015

Sales across the country’s hospitality outlets improved by roughly 2% in 2014 and a similar amount of growth is anticipated for 2015 despite fragile levels of consumer confidence, said the company.

Peter Backman, managing director at Horizons, said: “It won’t be a meteoric rise this year, but sales are likely to see steady growth if consumer confidence continues to improve, prompting a rise in average spend.”

Global issues​

Current global tensions such as the Ebola pandemic and the rising threat of Islamic extremism as well as the debate over Britain’s place in the EU were listed as potential risks to consumer confidence, potentially limiting any projected growth in foodservice sales.

But Horizons pinpointed limited product takeaways such as juice bars, Mexican street food outlets, bakeries and coffee shops as potential beneficiaries of further growth due to them commonly being found in high traffic areas and catering to spontaneous buyers.

Backman said: “We envisage this trend continuing as entrepreneurial operators come up with novel ideas for brands.

“It is these operators who will bring back new food trends to the market by renting small, cost-effective spaces that larger brands can’t.”

Acquisitions ​

However, Horizons expects acquisitions by bigger operators to grow with smaller businesses falling inevitably into their crosshairs.

“The larger players are now at the point where they will start to ask where further growth will come from,” Backman added.

“The eating out market in some sectors is reaching saturation and overseas expansion is difficult for most, so acquisition through 2015 and into 2016 is the obvious answer – investors are much keener on the eating out sector than they were and obtaining finance for deals will get easier.”