The UK eating out foodservice market will contract 40% to £54.7bn in 2020 and will not fully recover the value lost until 2023, when the market is forecasted to reach £92.8bn, according to Lumina Intelligence’s findings.
Coming from its UK Eating Out Market Report 2020 Update, the sector is forecast to see growth of 64% in 2021, equating to value sales of £89.5bn for the full year, with delivery, tech-led solutions around contactless service and eased restrictions on trading hours all crucial for market recovery.
70% of consumers planning on using delivery services after lockdown, says report
In the short-term, the foodservice picture is much bleaker, with data from a hospitality leaders survey revealing that over a third do not believe that their business will be able to survive the 10pm curfew for six months. In the first week following the curfew being announced, three in ten operators saw more than 30% of bookings cancelled.
Blonnie Walsh, head of insight at Lumina Intelligence said, “The government’s new three tier lockdown plan has resulted in a significant step backwards for parts of the UK, with forced closures meaning that hospitality continues to be one of the worst hit industries throughout the pandemic. Unfortunately, in the short term, this will intensify the pressure on operators, suppliers and wholesalers. However, we expect hospitality to remain resilient throughout this time, and, despite a significant decline in value in 2020, we forecast the market to somewhat recover in 2021, with 61% growth expected.”
