Growth in casual dining, QSR and restaurant franchising, Christie & Co report reveals
Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has today launched its annual Business Outlook report, 'Business Outlook 2025', which reflects on key market activity, trends and challenges of 2024 and forecasts what 2025 might bring across the industries in which Christie & Co operates, including the restaurant sector.
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The report notes that, despite challenging trading conditions, the casual dining sector is in a recovery phase, with brands looking to acquire new sites and reporting an uptick in margins. Like pubs, the number of full-service restaurants has fallen, but as profitability has started to stabilise Christie & Co predicts we will see outlet growth in 2025.
The insights reveal particular growth in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) sector, with a 10% increase in the number of QSR outlets compared to a decline in high street brand sites. This reflects changing consumer dining habits, as diners drop down in price from high street restaurants to take-away options. Data also highlights an influx of proven international brands looking to enter and expand within the UK market, alongside the wider acceptance of the franchise model.
Ongoing headwinds in the sector and evolving consumer preferences continue to impact transactional activity, and this is reflected in a further drop of -7.9% in Christie & Co's restaurant price index. However, the second half of the year saw many landlord-incentivised deals and food entrepreneurs coming back into the market, and the sector maintains momentum.
The report also outlines Christie & Co's market predictions for the year ahead, which are:
- We will continue to see a gradual recovery in the casual dining sector
- There will be continued growth of Quick Service Restaurants (QSR)
- Fine dining will become more exclusive and expensive to customers
- We will see market integration for greater synergy benefits
- There will be an overheating of rents for QSR drive-through sites outside of towns
Simon Chaplin, Senior Director of Pubs, Restaurants & Franchise at Christie & Co, comments: “2024 proved to be a tipping point for many in the restaurant sector, as the well-publicised pressures mounted and support in most forms came to an end. Those who are still here in 2025 are now in a prime position to take advantage of the continued appetite to spend on hospitality, which increased last year, as opposed to cooking at home as supermarket spend decreased. To date this has been focused on the fast-growing QSR market, but will filter into casual dining brands as the year progresses, who will expand carefully with great property deals available. Unfortunately, some high-end venues have already disappeared, but this allows those who remain to become even more exclusive, ‘occasion’ restaurants, for the benefit of both customer and restaurateurs.”
Click here to read the full report: https://www.christie.com/news-resources/business-outlook-2025/restaurants/
For further information on this press release, contact:
Jasmine Davis, Corporate Communications Manager
P: 07561 115179
E: jasmine.davis@christie.com
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