Restaurant groups take a bigger bite out of the Birmingham market

Continued inward investment is making Birmingham a top target for food and beverage companies looking to expand.

The city’s younger population, allied to higher consumer confidence and more disposable income are seeing new restaurants and bars open up like never before.

Ed Purcell, associate in the National Retail agency team of Cushman & Wakefield in Birmingham, said: “There is continued demand from existing and new leisure and restaurant operators who wish to enter and expand within the Birmingham and Midlands market.

“This is due to a number of reasons, continued inward investment by companies into the service and manufacturing industries leading to higher levels of employment, increases in population levels as people seek to relocate to Birmingham, and increased levels of spending by consumers on their food and leisure activities.”

The comments follow a report by his firm on changing shopping habits in the UK and how nearly 3,000 new restaurants and cafes are expected to open in the two years to the end of 2018.

The Cushman & Wakefield UK Food & Beverage Market report concludes the growth in online shopping, which has seen the number of clothing and white goods stores decline, has prompted shopping centres to focus on opening cafes and restaurants. By improving the overall shopping experience, they aim to encourage consumers to shop for longer and spend more.

Cushman & Wakefield surveyed 95 F&B operators on their future plans with results suggesting there will be a net addition of 1,414 units in 2017, followed by 1,515 in 2018.

These expansion plans will require consumer F&B outlay to increase by a net £674m and £722m respectively.

The research revealed that between January 2014 and January 2017 the number of clothing, footwear and white goods shops decreased by 2,185, while the number of restaurants and cafes increased by 2,998 – growth of 9%.

As a result, F&B now accounts for one fifth of all retail and leisure units.

Cafés, fast food and takeaways have seen the strongest growth within the food and beverage sector, up 1,527 and 1,035 respectively in the last three years.

In the same period, the number of restaurants has increased by 897, with expansion of American food operators, such as Red’s True Barbeque. The growth in American cuisine has come at the expense of Indian and Chinese restaurants, with the removal of 205 and 192 sites respectively.

The report also shows that F&B expansion has also become increasingly dominated by multiple retailers – defined as those with five outlets or more. These operators accounted for 37% of net expansion in 2014, which had increased to 49% by 2016.

Cushman & Wakefield said it expected this market share would continue to rise as multiple operators expand their presence across the UK.