Harry Barnick, Senior Analyst at Third Bridge, talks to Proactive London following The Restaurant Group PLC results this morning.
The Restaurant Group (LON:TRG) was hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown when restaurants, bars and pubs were forced to shut for several months. The group reported a pretax loss of £62.6m for the 26 weeks to 28 June, compared with a profit of £28.1m a year earlier. Including restructuring costs, it made a statutory loss of £234.7m.
Barnick notes that the entire casual dining sector faces an immense challenge and some brands simply wont survive into the new year. Although these insolvencies will mean less competition for Restaurant Group's brands they probably wont mean more customers, and that's the problem.
On a positive notes barnick notes that delivery has sky-rocketed during lockdown and whilst government schemes like 'Eat Out to Help Out' encouraged diners back to restaurants, Wagamama is likely to focus its attention in this space.
