Accommodation and food services saw a monthly uplift of 0.3%, and a 0.5% increase over the last three months, according to new GDP figures.
These compare well to the overall figure for consumer-facing service, at just 0.1% growth. Within the headline figure, food and beverage services grew 0.8% month on month.
“Better weather makes a huge difference to consumer spending, which can be seen in the monthly GDP growth across accommodation and food services of 0.3%,” said Saxon Moseley, partner and head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK.
“This offsets the sharp fall in January 2025 and puts the sector back roughly where it was at the end of last year, with food and beverage services driving the recovery.
“Given the hit of significant cost increases in April, this growth is good to see and should help operators balance the books. While this was mainly driven by unseasonably sunny conditions in April, we all know how unpredictable the Great British weather can be, so any ‘recovery’ is not guaranteed.”
He added: “Calls from leisure and hospitality businesses for further government intervention were not specifically met in yesterday’s Spending Review, but greater investment in local and regional transport could boost future footfall which will help to support growth in the longer term.”
• UKHospitality has welcomed investment in skills and training, and transport, announced in the chancellor’s Spending Review.
Rachel Reeves announced spending of more than £16bn across both sectors, the lion’s share going to transport.
“Thriving high streets and hospitality are absolutely essential to the government’s mission of renewing Britain, and there were some announcements in today’s spending review that can contribute to that ambition,” said UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls.
“Significant investment into skills development and apprenticeships should be accessible to hospitality businesses, and we’re encouraged by the potential for improvements to regional transport to benefit venues, consumers, and workers alike.
“However, it remains the case that the overwhelming challenge holding back hospitality from meeting its potential is the current tax burden imposed upon it.”
She added: “As we look towards the Budget and the rest of the Parliament, it must be a priority to bring down the cost of doing business. The business rates reform being finalised this autumn will be a critical element of that, and there needs to be the maximum level of discount applied to hospitality businesses.
“With the Industrial Strategy set to be published imminently, hospitality’s ability to deliver socially productive growth must be recognised and harnessed to deliver economic growth, jobs, and regeneration in towns and cities right across the UK.”
• Beer is outperforming other drinks categories in terms of sales, says Heineken in a new report.
Lager continues to be the UK’s most popular pint, but there has been a revival of interest in stout and classic bitter ales, says the brewer.
“The report re-emphasises the importance of the category to the on-trade, with so many consumers viewing beer as critical part of the pub going experience,” said Will Rice, on-trade director at Heineken UK.
• Brew Propco, backed by a loan from Hodge Real Estate Finance, has acquired 83 long-leasehold pubs across South and West Wales.
The pubs are leased to Marston’s and were formerly part of brewer Brains’ estate.
• Revenue at Young’s was up 24.9% to £485.8m in the year to 31st March, the pubco has reported. Adjusted operating profit increased by £14.1m to £71.4m.
The company says it has made a fast start to the new financial year, with revenue for the first nine weeks up by 8% year on year.
