79% Micro
19% Small
1% Mid
0% Large
0% Mega
INSIGHTS - APRIL 2025
UK Food and Drink Industry
UK Food and Drink Industry Information
The food and drink service industry includes serving or event catering activities to provide meals or drinks in restaurants, fast-food takeaways, pubs, bars, nightclubs, social clubs, cafeterias, ice cream vans, mobile food vans and market stalls.
Active Businesses
136,590
Annual Sales
£100bn +
Employees
1,786,519
Economic Contribution
£36bn
Tags
Location of Food and Drink Companies
Food and Drink Companies by Size
Largest Food and Drink Companies
Turnover
Food and Drink Companies by Age
38% Startup
38% Young
18% Established
6% Mature
0% New
Oldest Food and Drink Companies
Established
Fastest Growing Food and Drink Companies
30% Declining
25% Rapid
19% Healthy
19% High
7% Low
Fastest Growing Food and Drink Companies
3yr CAGR
Food and Drink Industry Competitive Environment - New Entrants vs Leavers
Food and Drink Industry Valuation
EBITDA Multiple
Food and Drink Industry Valuation
Turnover Multiple
Food and Drink Industry Valuation
Net Asset Multiple
Note - from March 2020 multiples are calculated monthly, prior to this they were calculated on an annual basis.
UK Food and beverage service activities Industry Insights
There are 136,590 active Businesses in the UK with combined annual sales of £100 billion .
The Industry employs around 1,786,518 people and contributes £36 billion to the economy.
The most popular location for Food and Drink companies is London with 33,468 and the fewest are located in Northern Ireland with 2,593.
The largest Food and Drink company is Whitbread Group Plc with a turnover of £3bn. 79% of the industry is comprised of Micro companies with only 1% Mid companies.
6% of the Food and Drink Industry is made up of 6% Mature but the majority are Startup businesses (38%) the oldest company is The Festiniog Railway Company founded in 1832.
Food and Drink industry has a number of high growth companies (19%), the fastest growing company is Eventist Group Limited with a 3 year growth rate of 209%. Other fast growing companies include Excel Hospitality Limited (208%), Six By Nico (Holdings) Limited (186%) and Twickenham Experience Ltd (174%).
The UK Food and Drink Industry’s valuation has been improving over the past 3 years with a current EBITDA multiple of 10.38x, Turnover multiple of 1.59x and a Net Asset multiple of 2.75x.
