Consumers still have taste for dining out

Restaurant Group, which operates 387 outlets, reported a 3 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in the 26 weeks to July 3, marking a significant improvement on the 0.5 per cent increase in the first quarter.

Underlying profits were up 8 per cent to £24.4m as the group refused to take part in ‘deep discounting’, such as two-for-one offers, which have become common in the industry. This helped it maintain its margins in the face of rising food prices.

It said the second half of its financial year had “started well”, with like-for-like sales growth of 2.75 per cent in the year to date, despite August being blighted by the riots and heightened fears of another global recession.

Chief executive Andrew Page said: “Despite the recent raft of downbeat newsflow and the disturbances in early August, we’ve made a good start to the second half.”

However, the group expects the “tough backdrop for consumer-facing businesses to continue”.

Around 40 of its sites closed at some point as a result of the riots, although most of its outlets were unaffected because they are largely in out-of-town locations, such as retail parks.

The group, which also owns the Garfunkel’s chain, described its first-half performance as “excellent” given the difficult nature of its market.

It said its Frankie & Benny’s chain put in a particularly strong performance.