Burger, coffee shops and Italian/pizza were the menu categories that registered the greatest sales among the 100 largest UK chains in 2013, according to data released by Technomic.
For limited-service restaurants, burger sales reached £2.3bn, coffee shops £1.9bn, and Italian/pizza £1.3 billion.
The 100 biggest chains in the UK, led by US fast-food chain McDonald’s, recorded a 6.4% annual sales increase in 2013, compared to 7.1% the previous year. The number of units grew by over 4%, compared to 7% in 2012.
Between them, the top ten restaurant chains accounted for almost £8.2bn of sales, over half (52.7%) of the top 100’s total. McDonald’s generated more than £1.8bn in sales in 2013, followed by Wetherspoon (£1.2bn, up 9%) and Costa Coffee (£937.5m).
Darren Tristano, senior managing director of Technomic, said: “Industry growth remains promising following a pattern of increased sales performance by the top 100 chains. Their strong results can be attributed to a fast-casual segment that continues to shine, as well as popular US foods like American-style barbecue and hot dogs appearing on UK menus, and pubs that are working to revamp and refresh their bars with new concepts to gain market share from traditional restaurants.”
Limited-service restaurants saw sales revenue grow by over 6%. The patisserie segment was the fastest-growing in both sales (18%) and unit numbers (8%). Only four patisserie chains are listed in the top 100 UK chains, but Patisserie Valerie and Muffin Break registered sales increases of nearly 25 and 12 per cent respectively.
Full-service restaurants saw a 7% increase in sales – 9% for casual-dining restaurants and 5% for pub chains.
PizzaExpress reported the next highest sales revenue in the full-service segment at £411m in 2013.
