Pubs may be closing in record numbers and people may be eating more takeaways and home-cooked meals, but the pub and restaurant sector is far from dead, according to new research published today.

Trading figures supplied by 11 of Britain’s biggest operators, including Mitchells & Butlers, Whitbread and Tragus, the owner of the Café Rouge and Strada chains, show that cumulative like-for-like sales rose by 5.6 per cent in January compared with the same month last year.

The figures may cause raised eyebrows given the big jump in sales of home delivery pizzas and fresh food and the high-profile travails of the pub sector, although it is clear that a substantial increase in discounts and promotions, including a rush of 2-for-1 meal offers, was a big factor in persuading consumers to enjoy a meal or a drink out.

The newly launched Peach Business Tracker, run in conjunction with UBS and KPMG, suggests that the extended Christmas break, as many workers delayed their return to work until the second week of January, also helped pubs and restaurants in the first week of the year.

Total sales, including newly opened and refurbished outlets for the 11 companies rose by 6.8 per cent during the month, suggesting that the big chains are using their muscle to take market share from independent operators.

Peter Martin, who compiles the Peach Business Tracker, said that the plethora of promotions meant that having a meal at a pub or restaurant had become a relatively cheap alternative to cooking at home while providing some respite from the economic doom and gloom.

Mr Martin said that while the big chains remained extremely cautious about the prospects for the rest of the year, most were encouraged by the robustness of January trading. “Far from eating-in being the new eating-out, as some retail chains would have us believe, people are continuing to go out,” he said.

Richard Hathaway, head of leisure at KPMG, said the big test would be whether the sales bounce continued beyond January, adding: “The plethora of promotions will have helped drive sales in the sector, but could ultimately impact profitability.”

Wetherspoons, which has introduced a raft of cheap deals, including a pint of ale for 99p and cottage pie, chips and peas for £2.99, recently reported a 6.4 per cent jump in like-for-like sales in the two weeks to January 18, although it cautioned that margins would be lower.

Other companies participating in the Peach Business Tracker include Wagamama, Barracuda Group, Bay Restaurant Group, Spirit Group, Carluccio’s and Gondola, the owner of the PizzaExpress and ASK chains.

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