Restaurant closures the worst on record following "alarming" year

The number of restaurants going bust in 2018 across Scotland was the worst on record. Restaurant failures rose from 73 in 2017 to 136 in 2018, up 86%, according to analysis of official Insolvency Service stats.

They accounted for almost 14% of all corporate failures in Scotland last year, with struggles on the High Street such as the cost of business rates and problems with landlords behind the rise.

The boom in delivery services lead to some restaurant closures. Eileen Blackburn, head of restructuring and debt advisory at French Duncan, said: "These figures once again highlight the difficulties the restaurant sector is facing"

"A near doubling of the number of restaurant failures in one year is a quite alarming reflection of the state of the sector"

"Local councils and landlords must accept that they cannot continue to milk High Street businesses as too often the result is more closures and more boarded-up outlets"

She added: "There is also an issue with over-capacity in the sector, and rising costs have resulted in many restaurants simply being unable to continue to operate"

Many restaurants are also being hit by the growth of delivery services, which has opened up an enormous new market from food outlets that never delivered before, giving consumers the option of saving some money by eating takeaways at home.

There is also a warn of continued difficulties to come. However it's not always a sector where businesses struggle.

"The client is becoming a lot more savvy" - chef Ian McGhie

Moray chef Ian McGhie - who has seafood restaurants in Findhorn and Lossiemouth - says having a passion and good staff behind you makes a big difference.

"Over the years I've noticed some good teams being built, but nobody wants to do 70-80 hours a week without a good work/life balance"

"There's been a lot of changes in the industry, the client is becoming a lot more savvy, but the best people are often taken advantage of (in the restaurant business)"

That said, Ian also adds that there's no better buzz than a really good service.

"People go out, not just for the food, but they want to be entertained. People need to be relaxed and enjoy their evening"

"You have to stand out in whichever field you are in and if you don't have passion for cooking then you really shouldn't be a chef"

"Value for money has to be at the forefront of your business - and in the past - people may have been happy with charging silly sums of money for mediocre food, but the customer knows about quality and value now"

"A good lunchtime restaurant menu can be the hook for return business and you have to deliver that value for money to get customers back"