Make a quick buck from fast food

Despite the recession, restaurant and pub sales are up by 4.6% this year. What used to be regarded as a luxury is now a daily fixture in many people's lives. James McKeigue examines the sector, and tips the best way to buy in.

In a downturn you might fear the worst for the country's pubs and restaurants. Yet recent figures from accountants at KPMG and market researcher, The Peach Factory, show that while restaurant and pub sales dipped in 2009 they are up 4.6% year-on-year in 2010. So what's going on, and are investors who dismiss the sector missing a trick?

KPMG's Helen Dickinson admits consumer spending may only continue "until the effects of government measures begin to hit people's pockets". But even allowing for that it seems eating out has become ingrained in our culture. What was a monthly treat for our grandparents has become something we expect. As Rose Jacobs notes in the FT: "Britons are going the way of Americans when it comes to dining out seeing it as a regular fixture in weekly life, not an occasional luxury." Food consumed outside of the home in Britain now accounts for 35% of total spending on food up from 25% in the 1960s. Analysts say there is plenty of room for that figure to grow. In America eating out makes up 50% of the total.

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.