Suburbs drive Restaurant Group recovery after its losses double

THE owner of Wagamama, Frankie & Benny’s and Garfunkel’s said families eating out in the suburbs was driving a recovery after lockdown.

The Restaurant Group laid off 4,500 staff during lockdown and now expects to shut 250 of its 650 restaurants by the end of the year.

Lockdown led revenue to fall to £227.2m in the six months to June, down from £515.9m last year. The group posted a loss of £234.7m, compared with £87.7m in 2019. This included a £172m charge, mostly due to a writedown of assets.

It said the Chancellor’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme boosted trading in August but warned that new restrictions are taking their toll.

The group only has a few outlets in city centres, which have been hit hard by the curfew and the Government’s work-from-home advice.

Yesterday, it said pubs in the suburbs had enjoyed a 17pc bump in sales between July 4 and September 20.

By contrast, in towns, pub sales were up by just 4pc, while in central London they were down by close to two-fifths.

The firm’s troubled Frankie & Benny’s restaurants, many in retail parks, grew by 4pc, the ‘strongest trading in five years’.

Chief executive Andy Hornby said: ‘The curfew has been yet another encouragement for people to go out locally rather than in city centres.’

Wagamama sales were up by 11pc since the lockdown, but its 71 airport concessions endured a 58pc drop.

The firm used a form of insolvency known as a company voluntary agreement to close 128 Frankie & Benny’s outlets during lockdown.

It also placed part of its Chiquito business into administration, leading to the closure of a further 52 restaurants.

Most of the remaining 20,000 staff who were furloughed during lockdown have returned to work, as just ‘a handful’ of city centre locations remain shut. Shares rose 4.5pc, or 2.45p, to 57p.