Northern restaurant and bar scene growing twice as fast as London

The restaurant and bar scenes in Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds are growing at rates more than double those of London.

That's according to the Northern Restaurant and Bar trade show and hospitality data and insight specialist CGA.

The data, from CGA's Outlet Index, shows that the M62 corridor which spans Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds has seen restaurants and bar openings increase by 20% over the last five years, compared to London, which had a 10.4% increase during the same period.

Research covered the central business districts of every major city which contained over 100 licensed premises. Liverpool topped the chart with 25.2% growth over a five year period, with Manchester close behind on 24.9% and Leeds in third place on 20.5%.

Jamie Campbell, Retail Business Unit Director of CGA, said: "Of course London is a much bigger restaurant and bar scene in absolute terms, but percentages don't lie, the change in the cities in the North is more pronounced and has a proportionally greater impact on diners, whether residents or tourists. Moreover we are working on additional data which shows that growth in the region is indeed being driven by independents, with the featured Northern cities showing an increase in independent outlets at over twice the national rate."

Thom Hetherington, chief executive of Northern Restaurant and Bar added: "We're delighted but not surprised by the data, we have seen the changes first hand - new restaurants and bars are opening almost every day. Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds are building top class food and drink scenes, and that's great news for diners. Despite this being a challenging period for hospitality businesses, the growth is being largely driven by ambitious regional independents, and we're proud that NRB can help to inspire and inform them."

See the full list below:

• Liverpool 25.20%
• Manchester 24.90%
• Leeds 20.50%
• Southampton 20.40%
• York 19.50%
• Cardiff 17.00%
• Newcastle 15.70%
• Bradford 15.10%
• London 10.40%

Videos from The Caterer archives

Are you looking for a new role? See all the current hospitality vacancies available with The Caterer Jobs