Bankers, stockbrokers and even Premiership footballers are increasingly eschewing fancy restaurants and opting to eat in high street burger bars, according to the owner of the Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) chain.

David Page, chairman of Clapham House Group, said: “We’re seeing far more suits than ever before. Loads of bankers, agents and brokers are switching to GBK from their usual £100 lunches because they’re having to spend their own money.”

He said the restaurants at Tower Bridge, St Paul’s, Covent Garden and Soho were seeing large numbers of “sad huddled bankers”, while a group of London Stock Exchange workers had booked a Christmas party at the nearby GBK.

There have also been reports of Manchester United players Cristiano Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand and team boss Sir Alex Ferguson eating at the GBK in the Wirrall. “We’re definitely seeing more posh people,” said Mr Page.

Such trading down by customers helped Clapham House report a 114 per cent jump in pre-tax profits to £1.5 million in the half-year to September 28, from revenue up 21 per cent to £30.3 million. Diluted earnings per share rose from 1.2p to 2.6p and there is again no dividend.

Mr Page admitted that part of the improvement had been driven by discounts and promotions in the early part of the week, although analysts estimated that like-for-like sales excluding promotions had risen by 5 per cent since the end of September, a time when many rivals have seen a fall-off in trading.

The group, which also owns the Real Greek and Tootsies chains, has opened nine UK eateries this year, taking its total to 80, but it expects to open fewer than seven next year after adopting a more prudent approach to expansion.

The company also doubled its number of franchised outlets from five to ten — in Ireland, Turkey, Kuwait and the Middle East — and Mr Page hinted that China or India could become the next franchised territory.

The group, in which Capricorn Ventures Intenational, the owner of the Nando’s chain, has a 25 per cent stake, also allayed concerns over its £22 million banking facility by refinancing it until June 2012 at 2 percentage points over Libor, up from 1.25 points previously.

Mr Page said that, despite its cautious approach to expansion, Clapham House was well-placed to “take advantage of a softening UK property market and likely casualties in the independent restaurant sector”.

The shares added 7¾p to 75¼p, a rise of almost 12 per cent.

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