Foodservice growth report 2017: growth continues but headwinds are on the horizon

Our Foodservice Growth Report 2017 reveals that operators in the UK independent foodservice sector achieved yet another year of double-digit revenue growth. But fast-approaching cost headwinds will likely slow growth in 2018 unless businesses can use M&A effectively to offset the impact of tightening corporate and public sector budgets, the national living wage, apprenticeship levy, and food price inflation.

At a glance

• UK M&A in the last 12 months has focused heavily on operators servicing premium clients or venues in London.
• Average profit margins reached 6.4% last year, up from 4.3% in 2013.
• Service to the education sector—the most significant profit-growth driver for companies in our report—continued to expand.