Owners of Telford restaurant Wildwood cautious amid 'challenging' trading conditions

The Tasty group, which operates the Wildwood chain and counts a branch in Telford among its 32 locations across the country, said it was remaining "cautious" and plans to issue a further trading update later this month.

In an update issued this week, the company said it was experiencing a decline in consumer confidence amid pressures on household budgets, as well as increased costs following the autumn Budget announcement in October, which increased the national minimum wage alongside employer's National Insurance Contributions, set to kick in in April.

Last year, Tasty shut 18 of its restaurant sites after experiencing a challenging start to 2024, a move it said was part of a restructuring plan aimed at focusing on its stronger performing sites.

"As reported in the company's interim results on 30 September 2024, H1 2024 was a period of significant change for the group with the reshaping of the estate and wholesale changes to the group's operating structure," said a spokesperson. 

"The casual dining market continues to contend with several adverse factors, including a decline in consumer confidence and a discernible decline in discretionary spend, inflationary pressures on food, increases in the National Minimum Wage and following the UK Government's Budget in October 2024, an increase in employers' National Insurance contributions from April 2025. 

 "Trading in H2 2024 continued to be challenging, and in particular, the key December period has been disappointing. In these uncertain times, the board is maintaining a cautious outlook."

In the update to shareholders, the firm also said it was set to receive a £2.5m insurance pay out relating to a claim made in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The group will receive a "full and final settlement" from insurers within 21 days following what the company described as a "breach of a contract for insurance for losses arising in 2020".