Restaurant closures are running at the fastest rate in a decade, dampening hopes 2023 would be a year of recovery for the sector.
In the first quarter of this year around 570 restaurants entered insolvency, research from accountancy firm Price Bailey found.
More than 2,000 venues have closed in the last twelve months, 700 more than the year before.
It means on average 5.6 restaurant businesses go bust every day, up from the 3.1 daily rate seen in 2021.
One key driver of the closures is the rise in interest rates as highly leveraged businesses are failing to keep up with loan repayments, the accountancy firm said.
Shrinking Sector
Britain has lost almost 14,000 pubs, bars and restaurants since Covid, another report by the CGA found.
Between 2022 and 2023 the number of restaurants shrunk by 7.8%, the second-largest decrease in the sector, behind only nightclubs.
During Christmas and March, the restaurant industry shrunk by 1.8% - way ahead of the 0.5% drop seen in the pub sector.