Britain's contract caterers recorded an 8.0% year-on-year sales increase in Q2 2025 following 9.5% growth in Q1, producing a very strong first half of 2025. MAT growth for sales over the last 12 months rose to 7.9% including new contracts. Outlet numbers grew 9.3% over the quarter and now stand well above pre-COVID levels. The Contract Catering Tracker aggregates sales from leading operators to provide quarterly reports and benchmarking across market groupings, and participants receive additional analysis. Resilience, innovation and continued strong performance are expected despite ongoing inflationary pressures.
the new Contract Catering Tracker from CGA by NIQ, Bidfood and UKHospitality reveals. Sales from April to June rose by 8.0% year-on-year, continuing a long run of growth in every quarter since mid-2021, when caterers started to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. After 9.5% growth in the first quarter of the year, it completes a very strong first half of 2025 in which contract caterers have outperformed most other sectors of hospitality.
The latest figure takes groups' MAT growth-for sales over the last 12 months compared to the previous 12 months, including new contracts-to 7.9%. Businesses also continued their sharp upward movement in outlet numbers over the quarter, the Contract Catering Tracker shows. Units increased by 9.3% and now stand well above pre-COVID levels. The Contract Catering Tracker from CGA, Bidfood and UKHospitality aggregates sales from leading operators to provide quarterly reports with year-on-year analysis.
Contract catering has staged an outstanding comeback from the widespread closures of COVID, and near-double digit growth in both sales and outlets is testament to its resilience and innovation. It is even more impressive in the context of challenging and high-cost trading conditions that have sapped the confidence of businesses and consumers alike. Inflationary pressures are unlikely to ease soon, but caterers are likely to continue to be among the standout performers of the sector for the rest of 2025 and beyond.
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