Welsh capital outperforms English city through tough February for hospitality and retail

Cardiff city centre outperformed both Bristol and other UK benchmark cities in February, with new data suggesting the Welsh capital continues to show resilience in a challenging trading environment for town and city centres.

New data from Beauclair shared by FOR Cardiff, the city centre Business Improvement District (BID), revealed a +6.4% year-on-year increase in overall city centre sales, against a -4.0% UK benchmark decline and a -6.3% fall in Bristol, underlining Cardiff’s relative strength despite ongoing pressure on consumer spending.

The data also points to a more nuanced but still encouraging picture for hospitality.

Cardiff’s hospitality sales were up +0.8% year on year in February, while hospitality transactions and customer numbers both rose by +3.3%, suggesting more people were still choosing to visit the city’s bars, cafés and restaurants – even as average spend per head softened.

Within hospitality, Food & Drink was a standout, with sales rising +2.5% year on year in February, bucking the national trend and reinforcing the strength of Cardiff’s food and drink offer as a key part of the city centre economy.

That resilience is being matched by continued hospitality investment, with incoming names including Society Café and Solina Pasta reinforcing Cardiff’s strength as a city where new concepts want to launch.

The wider city centre picture was stronger still, with Retail up +9.6% and independent businesses up +5.5% in February, pointing to resilience right across Cardiff’s commercial and visitor economy.

Carolyn Brownell, Executive Director of FOR Cardiff said: “The cold, wet February was clearly a difficult month for many town and city centres across the UK, so these figures are encouraging for Cardiff.

“What they show is not a city centre untouched by wider pressures, but one that is resilient under pressure, and continuing to attract people in to shop, eat, drink and spend time here.”

While the data suggests customers remain careful with spend, FOR Cardiff said Cardiff’s relative outperformance against Bristol and the UK benchmark reflects the overall strength of the city centre offer, from hospitality and independent businesses to retail and leisure.

The figures also suggest Cardiff is continuing to attract visitors from beyond its immediate catchment, with increased hospitality spend from outside Wales in particular adding to the city’s strength as a destination.

Carolyn Brownell continued, “It is particularly positive to see Cardiff outperforming nearby Bristol – and the wider UK benchmark – and to see hospitality customer numbers and transactions both increase during what remains a tough period for many businesses.

“That tells us people are still choosing Cardiff. They may be spending carefully, but they continue to come into the city centre and engage with what it offers.”

FOR Cardiff continues to work with businesses across the city centre to track trends, support growth, and champion the value of Cardiff as a destination for visitors, workers and residents alike.