The UK’s restaurant sector has arguably become the world leader in terms of innovation and is bigger and better than ever, according to leading industry players including Luke Johnson and Ian Neill.
Speaking at M&C Report’s Restaurant Conference, serial sector investor Johnson said: “I think the quality that we are offering the consumer is outstanding. We have arguably become a world leader in terms of innovation. I think that has paid dividends in terms of growth and employment.
“It is better than ever, bigger than ever, more diverse than ever, it has grown consistently throughout the downturn. It has proven critics and sceptics wrong who said it would suffer due to the impact on discretionary spending. There is more investment going into the sector than ever before.
“We don’t report the statistics in this country about how many jobs have been created in the sector, but if we are anything like America where the hospitality industry has created a big chunk of all the new jobs in the private sector in the last year, then I am quite sure we are a major contributor to the job growth that has been witnessed in the UK in the last couple of years and we should be proud of that.
Leading US sector academic Chris Muller said: “London is the most exciting food city in the world. There is nowhere more dynamic. It is always enlightening to come here, because there is nothing like it in the US. There is no place there that compares to London for innovation.
“It is like the base of a thundercloud, it is always churning and there is all this energy coming out. There are so many great operators always looking for that next edge. It is so competitive the real estate market is so small that you have to come up with great concepts immediately. It is always enlightening to come here, because there is nothing like it in the US.”
Former Wagamama chairman and current chair of Las Iguanas, Neill: I agree absolutely. I think one feature that has got us to this buoyant stage is this is the movement towards differentiation in the offer has created this whole innovation play in concepts and flavours that is being seen especially in London but increasingly across the whole of the country.
“In the bigger urban centres there is innovation, especially in places like Manchester, Bristol and Leeds there is a lot going on. We are in a bubble in London, but there is exciting things happening in the regions because there is this need for the consumer to eat out, which is no different in London. Las Iguanas opened in Plymouth recently, it is a tough city, but we do an exceptionally good trade there. If you have the right offer which you deliver well then business is there to be secured.”
