A few years ago, if you’d asked a successful London restaurateur about their plans to move up north you would have probably received a response bordering on surprise and indignation. In the thick of the most recent recession, many cities in the north of England were about as enticing to expanding southern restaurant groups as Ann Widdecombe on a promise, with low consumer spend and dwindling footfall in many northern cities in harsh comparison to the continued boom that many London restaurants were still experiencing.

Yes, there were plenty of successful operators up there, went the thinking - not least players such as San Carlo and the irrepressible Living Ventures, whose restaurants have colonised certain parts of the country - and it’s probably best to leave them to it.

Today things couldn’t be more different. London-based operators aren’t now just viewing certain northern cities with renewed vigour, they are practically tripping over each other to get a piece of the action. Burger chain Byron has led the way in this recent prospector rush (as it often does) with launches in Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester, as have the number of hitherto London players that took a punt on Leeds Trinity, namely Pho, Chicago Rib Shack and D&D London. Now plenty more want to get involved.

By next year London players including Hawksmoor, Cabana, Iberica, Burger & Lobster and MeatLiquor will have all planted their flag in northern territories. Tellingly, none of these are 30-strong chains - the typical size  many southern-based brands reach before deciding to dip their toe ‘up north’ - but rather operate just a handful of sites each. Northern cities are no longer regarded as places to head once every London borough has been mined, as was once the case; they are now a firm part of many burgeoning restaurant groups’ key expansion plans.

From a northern restaurateur’s point of view the sudden interest in their patch is surely a double-edge sword. It is belated yet deserved recognition that the food scene outside of London is vibrant and in good shape, something that no doubt will be roundly welcomed by everyone involved. But it also means that competition is going to get more fierce for many players as London brands start to encroach into their space.

Established northern players will be right to be wary of the new crop of restaurants opening up on their doorstep, but there is also room for confidence. There is certainly no guarantee of success for these London insurgents, which are likely to have to alter their approach outside of the capital, particularly when it comes to marketing in the early days.

MeatLiquor, for example, a brand that has gained a cult following in the capital largely through word of mouth, isn’t expecting the same thing to happen in Leeds, where it opens next month. As such, it plans to market itself more aggressively, and ingeniously, during its soft launch period to ensure that Leeds customers get what the brand is all about. The company is leaving nothing to chance, and as part of its plans for the first time it is encouraging customers to give their details in order to create a database, offering those that do 50% off their bill during the first two weeks of launch (9-21 September).

With established northern burger operator Almost Famous also about to launch in Leeds it’s a sensible step to take.

It’s heartening to see that London restaurateurs don’t believe they can just pitch up with their concept and start taking custom from established rivals. It’s also heartening that the movement of these brands northwards will further put the spotlight on the UK’s burgeoning restaurant scene beyond the capital.

It seems the ‘them and us’ stance that has long existed between operators in the north and south of the country could finally be consigned to the history books.