The first month of 2022 has seen stable sales across the sector, with January’s overall sales up 1% on 2020 levels.
Food-led sales were up 3%, however drink sales were down by a small 1%.
Sites outside of London saw their like-for-likes increase by 2%, whereas London-based sites saw their sales decline by 4% on January 2020.
Richard Hartley, Chief Innovation Officer, said: “January was shaping up to be a difficult month for the sector, especially following the loss on sales over the festive period. The stable like-for-likes are welcome but most likely not enough, as sector prices look set to rise given the oncoming surging costs in energy, labour, food, drink, and insurance.”