The largest UK restaurant companies recorded twice the amount of profit in the last year, up from 35% to 78%, found research from UHY Hacker Young.

This was partly driven by a rise in restaurant mergers and acquisition (M&A) deals in the sector, which reached a five-year high of 186 in 2022 after company valuations had fallen sharply during the pandemic.

In total, the 100 restaurant companies posted a combined profit of £19.9m in the last year, up from a substantial loss of £673m a year ago.

However, the recent round of interest rate rises from the Bank of England, which currently stand at 5.25%, may threaten the overall profitability of the sector.