Restaurants stand to gain £70m as more Brits than ever ditch Christmas turkey
More Brits will ditch the kitchen and eat out this Christmas than ever before, new research suggests.
Pubs, restaurants and bars across the country are set to gain upwards of £70m on Christmas day spending, research from Worldpay found.
Pubs, which alone stand to make £7m on the 25th, will be 30 per cent busier than average across the UK.
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London pubs are expected to be the quietest, whereas those in Sussex and Kent will be three times busier and in Brighton, pubs will see 60 per cent more customers on Christmas day than an average night.
Patrons in the south east are anticipated to spend £1.7m in their local pubs – the bulk of which will come from drink sales.
The global payments company found the amount spent in pubs and restaurants on Christmas day grew 20 per cent last year, and it's expected to grow further this December.
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James Frost, chief marketing and commercial officer of UK Worldpay said: “Over the past few years we have seen a significant shift in the way Brits are choosing to spend Christmas Day – instead of the stress of cooking a roast dinner, more of us are booking our favourite restaurant and let the pros do all the hard work instead."
“Businesses that choose to shut up shop could be missing a trick.”