Café culture outpacing boozy Britain

LONDON, UK: A new café or table-service restaurant will open in the UK for every pub and bar that closes over the next three years, finds independent market analyst Datamonitor.

By the end of 2013, an estimated 2000 pubs and bars are predicted to close, whilst nearly 300 new cafes and 1900 new full service restaurants are expected to open for business suggesting a fundamental shift towards a more continental way of eating and drinking.

Kaustav Ray managing analyst at Datamonitor, said: "Whilst it is well documented that pubs and bars are closing at an alarming rate, the increase in venues perceived to be more cultured for socialising and eating with friends has been ignored.

"That said, there's still a massive gap when you look across the channel so it may be too soon to claim that we've moved to a European lifestyle - we have nearly 10 times more pubs and bars in the UK than in France, yet only a third the number of full service restaurants and cafes."

Pubs and bars in the UK will take US$4billion (about R29.2 billion) in sales (in Operator Buying Prices) this year, compared to US$580 million (about R4.3 billion) in France.