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How to write a restaurant business plan

A solid restaurant business plan is essential to any success that comes your way. The best ones identify, describe and analyse business opportunities while setting a blueprint. Here, we’ve put together a guide for how to write a restaurant business plan so life at your spot starts off on the right foot.  

What your restaurant business plan should cover

When it comes to how to write a restaurant business plan, the strongest ones always include all or most of the components described below. Charles Bililies , founder and CEO of Souvla , advises that first-time restaurateurs read plenty of different business plans for other restaurants, technology and retail companies to get a better sense of layout options, writing styles and clarity of concept. Put the sections that you feel would be most compelling to someone who’s never met you first: the “Management Team” section if you’re coming from high-profile establishments, for example. The goal is for the reader to keep turning the page.

Quick links Branded cover Table of contents Restaurant concept Sample menu Service Management team Design Target market Location Market overview Marketing and publicity Specialists and consultants Business structure Financials Useful resources

1. Branded cover

Include your logo (even if it’s not finalised), the date, and your name .

2. Table of contents

Having a table of contents helps you navigate the business plan to easily find what you need. Plus, a table of contents looks more professional and improves readability, which is especially important if potential lenders want to see your business plan before offering any form of finance.

3. Restaurant concept

Describe your restaurant concept and get the reader excited about your idea. Go into detail about the food you’ll be serving, inspiration behind your concept and an overview of service style. Define clearly what will be unique about your restaurant.

4. Sample restaurant menu

The menu is the most important touchpoint of any restaurant’s brand , so this should be more than just a simple list of items. Incorporate your logo and mock up a formatted menu design (tap a designer for help if needed).

Your sample menu should also include prices based on a detailed cost analysis. This will give investors:

• A clear understanding of your targeted price point
• Provide the first building block to figuring out average bill estimations needed to create financial projections
• Show investors that you’ve done the homework needed to be confident that you’ll be able to sell these items at these prices and operate within your budget.

This section is most relevant for:

• Fine-dining concepts
• Concepts that have a unique service style
• If you have particularly strong feelings about what role service will play in your restaurant.

It can be a powerful way of conveying your approach to hospitality to investors by explaining the details of the guest’s service experience.

Will your restaurant have counter service designed to get guests on their way as quickly as possible, or will it look more like theatre, with captains putting plates in front of guests simultaneously? If an extensive wine program is an integral part of what you’re doing, will you have a sommelier? If you don’t feel that service is a noteworthy component of your operation, address it briefly in the concept section.

6. Management team

Write a brief overview of yourself and the team you have established so far. You want to demonstrate that the work experience you’ve acquired over the course of your career has provided you with the necessary skills to run a successful restaurant.

Ideally, once you have described the strong suit of every member of your team, you’ll be presenting a full deck. Most independent restaurant investors are in this for more than just money, so giving some indication of what you value and who you are outside of work may also be helpful.

Incorporate some visuals. Create a mood board that shows images related to the design and feeling of your restaurant. Planning on cooking in a wood-burning oven? Include that. Photos of materials and snippets of other restaurants that you love that are similar to the brand you’re building are also helpful.

8. Restaurant target market

Who is going to eat at your restaurant? What do they do for a living, how old are they, and what’s their average income? Perform a target market analysis to better understand your customers. Once you’ve described them in detail, reiterate why your specific concept will be appealing to them.

9. Restaurant location

There should be a natural and very clear connection between the information you present in the ‘Target Market’ section and this one. You probably won’t have a specific site identified at this point in the process, but you should talk about viable neighbourhoods . Don’t assume that potential investors will be familiar with the areas you’re discussing and who works or lives there — make the connections clear. You want readers to be confident that your restaurant’s ‘ideal’ diner intersects with the neighbourhood(s) you’re proposing as often as possible.

If you don’t have a site, this is a good place to discuss what you’re looking for in terms of square footage, foot traffic, parking, road accessibility and other important details.

10. Competitive market overview

Address the micro and macro market conditions in your area. At a macro level, what are the local and regional economic conditions? If restaurants are doing poorly, explain why yours won’t; if restaurants are doing well, explain how you’ll be able to compete in an already booming restaurant climate. At a micro level, discuss your direct competitors. Talk about what restaurants share your target market and how you’ll differentiate yourself.

11. Marketing and publicity

The restaurant landscape is only getting more competitive, so you need a watertight restaurant marketing strategy to get ahead. Talk about your pre- and post-opening marketing plan to show investors how you will gain traction leading up to opening day, as well as how you’ll keep the momentum going. If you’re going to retain a PR/marketing company, introduce them and explain why you’ve chosen them over other companies (including some of their best-known clients helps). If not, convey that you have a solid plan in place to generate attention on your own through social media , your website , and media connections. To help you get started be sure to check out our zero budget marketing checklist .

12. Specialists and consultants

List any outside contractors you plan to retain, such as:

• Main Contractor
• PR & Marketing

Briefly explain the services they’ll be providing for you and why you chose them, along with any notable accomplishments.

13. Restaurant business structure

This section should be short and sweet. What type of business structure have you set up and why did you make that specific decision? You will need to work with a lawyer to help you determine what business structure is best for you.

“ Step one : write a restaurant business plan. Step two : hire a good lawyer. In addition to helping me build a smart, sustainable business structure, my lawyer was also a great resource for reviewing my business plan because she’s read thousands of them. She was a very helpful, experienced outside perspective for more than just legal matters”, Charles Bililies explains.

14. Financials

Let your accountant guide you through this portion of your business plan. It is crucial that whoever you retain to help you with your finances has a wealth of restaurant experience (not just one or two places), as they should be familiar with the specifics of restaurant finances and know what questions to ask you.

Before creating realistic financial projections, your accountant will want to know approximately how many seats you’re planning on having, what your average bill will be, and how many covers you expect per day. Being conservative in these estimations is key as these three data points will be used as the basis for figuring out whether your concept is financially feasible.

Lou Guerrero, Principal at Kross, Baumgarten, Kniss & Guerrero, emphasises that, “You’ll get a lot of accountants that tell you that they’ve done a couple of restaurants, but you have to choose someone that has a deep expertise in what you’re doing. There’s nothing to gain from going with someone that doesn’t have a very restaurant-centric practice.”

A well-vetted accountant with restaurant experience will know exactly what you’ll need to have prepared to show investors. The key projections you can expect to work on are:

• Pro forma profit and loss statement for the first three to five years of operation
• Break even analysis
• Capital requirements budget

Useful tools to build a restaurant business plan in the UK:

If design is not your forte, consider using a free online template. There are plenty of templates available on the web that can aid in this process. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or need help getting started, there are some great options to start from:

• Canva :  Bring your descriptions and its templates will help you do the rest. Canva hosts a library of thousands of free templates to choose from.
• Prince’s Trust free templates:   a collection of free tools and templates to help you build your first business plan
• VistaCreate: The plug-and-play menu design templates are easy to use, and the platform has the option for print and delivery.

Check our more restaurant resources

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Restaurant Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide + examples

Dreaming of opening a 🍴 restaurant? Passion, creativity, and delicious food are key. But for long-term success, a business plan is essential too.

Maja Jankowska

Are you dreaming of owning your own restaurant? Picture the sizzle of a hot skillet, the laughter of satisfied guests, and the fulfillment of sharing your culinary creations with the world. But before you dive into this flavorful adventure, there’s a crucial ingredient you can’t overlook: a winning restaurant business plan.

What is a business plan for?

A business plan is a vital document for every restaurant owner. It provides a roadmap for success, helps secure funding, guides financial and operational decisions, mitigates risks, and facilitates effective communication. 

Just like any other business, a restaurant needs a well-crafted business plan to ensure its success and sustainability. Without a business plan, you risk operating in the dark, making decisions on a whim, and facing unexpected challenges that could have been avoided. 

Investing time and effort into creating a solid business plan sets your restaurant on the path to achieving your culinary dreams and exceeding customer expectations.

Create Restaurant’s Business Plan in these 9 steps:

✔️ 1. Start with an executive summary ✔️ 2. Describe your concept ✔️ 3. Conduct Market analysis ✔️ 4. Define your management and organization ✔️ 5. Give a sample “yummy”  Menu ✔️ 6. Create design and branding ✔️ 7. Provide a Location ✔️ 8. Establish Marketing plan ✔️ 9. Define Financial plan

1. Executive summary

The executive summary is like the appetizer of your restaurant business plan – it’s the first bite that leaves a lasting impression. Its purpose is to capture the essence of your entire plan and entice time-crunched reviewers, such as potential investors and lenders, to delve deeper into your vision. It’s worth noting that the executive summary should be the final section you write.

To craft a concise and captivating summary, it’s crucial to highlight key points, including your unique concept, target market, and financial projections. Additionally, bear in mind that the executive summary sets the tone for the rest of your plan, so it’s essential to make it irresistible and leave readers yearning for more.

When it comes to the executive summary of your restaurant business plan, brevity is key . You have only one page to capture the attention of readers, but don’t worry, it’s definitely doable. Here’s what your executive summary should include:

• Restaurant concept : What does your business do?
• Goals and vision : What does your business want to achieve?
• Restaurant differentiation : What makes your menu/concept different, and what sets you apart?
• Projected financial state : What revenue do you anticipate?
• The team : Who is involved in the business?

2. Describe your concept

In the world of restaurant business plans, there’s a section that holds immense importance. It’s the one that answers two fundamental questions: Who are you, and what do you plan to do?

This is the section where you fully introduce your company, and it deserves special attention. Share all the important details that paint a vivid picture of your unique business. Include the restaurant’s name, location, and contact information. Additionally, provide relevant details such as the chef’s background and what makes your restaurant stand out in the market.

Curious about concept creation? Watch our short video featuring a summary of an example restaurant concept below! 👇

Now is your opportunity to showcase your vision and establish a unique identity for your restaurant. Utilize this section to highlight what sets you apart and capture the reader’s imagination.

3. Market analysis

Market analysis helps you understand your potential customers, competition, and overall restaurant market trends. It’s like having a crystal ball to shape your restaurant’s success.

Target audience 

When it comes to your potential market, you want to know how many people are hungry for what you’re serving. Sounds exciting, right? To estimate this, you’ll gather data on your target customers, like their age group or preferences, and combine it with industry trends. It’s like finding the perfect recipe to satisfy their cravings.

Competition

Now, let’s tackle the competition. Every restaurant has rivals, even if they’re serving a unique dish. It’s crucial to identify direct or indirect competitors and understand what makes you stand out. Are you offering affordable prices, a one-of-a-kind experience, or catering to a specific niche? Highlight your “secret sauce” that sets you apart from the rest.

Market analysis for restaurant’s business plan

Market analysis also involves a SWOT analysis. Don’t let the jargon scare you. It simply means evaluating your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Think of it as a superhero assessment for your restaurant. Identify what you excel at, areas for improvement, potential market opportunities, and external factors that could impact your success.

Example of SWOT analysis for a restaurant

Remember, market analysis is like a compass guiding your restaurant’s journey. It helps you make informed decisions, attract investors, and stay ahead of the game. So, embrace the power of market analysis, and let it shape the destiny of your delicious dining destination.

4. Management and organization

Effective management and organization are critical for success in the restaurant sector. This section of your business plan introduces the talented individuals who will lead your restaurant to new heights.

Outline your legal structure, whether it’s an S corporation, limited partnership, or sole proprietorship, providing key information for stakeholders.

Showcase your management team using an organizational chart to highlight their roles, responsibilities, and contributions. Their expertise and guidance are crucial for seamless operations and exceptional customer experiences.

With a strong management team in place, your restaurant is poised for success. They are the driving force behind your journey to greatness. Let’s meet the key players who will make it happen!

Streamline your operations and optimize your financial performance With resOs , you can efficiently manage reservations, track inventory, analyze sales data, and streamline your overall workflow. Get your FREE plan

5. Sample “yummy” Menu 

In the restaurant industry, your menu plays a main role as the core product. Include a section in your business plan that highlights key details about your menu offerings to engage readers.

If you offer a diverse range of dishes, provide a brief overview of each category. Alternatively, if your menu focuses on specific specialties or signature dishes, provide more detailed descriptions for each item.

You can also mention any upcoming menu additions or unique culinary creations that will enhance profitability and attract customers.

6. Design and branding 

When it comes to starting a restaurant, don’t underestimate the power of design and branding. They’re the secret ingredients that can make your establishment truly stand out. Think about it – when customers walk through your front door, what do they see? The right design and branding can instantly captivate their attention and make them feel right at home.

So, take some time to envision the overall aesthetic and mood you want to create.

Do you imagine a cozy and rustic setting or a sleek and modern vibe?

Let your creativity shine through! Include captivating photos of similar restaurants that inspire you and give potential investors a glimpse of your vision.

And don’t forget about your logo! If you’ve already designed one, proudly showcase it in your business plan. It’s the visual representation of your restaurant’s personality and will help establish brand recognition.

resOS’ customizable interface for your booking system

Stand out in the competitive restaurant industry with resOS’ customizable booking management system . Personalize every aspect of the interface to reflect your restaurant’s unique brand identity. Seamlessly integrate your logo, colors, and visual elements, creating a cohesive and immersive experience for your guests. With resOS, you have the power to revolutionize your restaurant’s image and leave a lasting impression.

Details matter too! Share your plans for specific design elements , from the choice of furniture to the color palette that will adorn your space. The more you paint a vivid picture, the more investors and customers will be enticed by your unique ambiance.

7. Location

For a restaurant, location can make or break the business. Occasionally, a restaurant concept is so good that people go out of their way to find it. But, more realistically, your location needs to be convenient for your target market. If it’s hard for your customers to get to you, hard for them to park, and not something they notice as they drive by, they’re unlikely to check your restaurant out.

In your business plan, make sure to discuss the potential locations that you hope to occupy, assuming you haven’t already secured the location. Explain why the location is ideal for your target market and how the location will help attract customers.

Unlock the potential of your restaurant’s location and streamline reservations with resOS. Our platform offers seamless integration with Reserve With Google , allowing customers to easily discover and book tables directly from Google search results and maps. By enabling this feature, you’ll maximize your restaurant’s visibility and attract more diners with just a few clicks. Experience the power of location-based reservations with resOS .

Be sure to explain the complete costs of your location and what kinds of renovations will be necessary to open your restaurant.

8. Marketing plan

In today’s competitive restaurant industry, it’s important to showcase your marketing strategy to investors. They want to know how you’ll create buzz and keep it going before and after your grand opening.

Create a winning business plan with a strong marketing focus. Our Restaurant Business Plan Steps Graphic (👆 see above) is your visual guide, including key marketing strategies. Download or save for later and plan your path to success.

Whether you’ve enlisted a top-notch Marketing company or have a solid ready-to-go marketing plan, highlight your chosen path. Discuss the unique strengths of your selected agency and why they stand out, including their notable clients. Alternatively, showcase your in-house plan, leveraging social media, your website, and valuable media connections.

A well-crafted marketing plan holds the key to differentiating your restaurant and attracting customers. Prepare to tantalize taste buds and offer an exceptional dining experience. Stay in tune with the latest restaurant industry trends, leverage effective marketing tools, and optimize your online presence. 

Lastly, integrate a robust restaurant booking system to streamline reservations and enhance the overall customer experience. With these strategic elements in place, success is within your reach.

9. Financial Plan

Financial analysis is a crucial part of your restaurant’s business plan. It helps investors assess the profitability of your concept and whether it’s a worthwhile investment. In this section, you’ll outline how you plan to allocate your funds in the first year and provide projections for costs and revenues.

Here are the 🔑 key components to include:

Investment Plan: Explain the initial investment costs, such as kitchen equipment, furniture, employee wages, legal fees, marketing expenses, and working capital. This shows how you’ll use your funds effectively.

Profit and Loss Projection: Estimate your restaurant’s costs and sales figures in the profit and loss statement. Consider factors like the size of your establishment, your target market, and the existing competition in your chosen location.

Break-Even Analysis: Show investors the monthly revenue you need to achieve to cover all your expenses and reach profitability. This analysis considers overhead costs, operational expenses, and factors that may affect revenue fluctuations throughout the year.

Claim your FREE plan on resOS today! Ready to revolutionize your business management? Join resos.com for FREE and take control of your operations. ✅ Seamless calendar integration ✅ Customizable booking forms ✅ Automated reminders ✅ Real-time availability updates Don’t miss out! Sign up now at resos.com and experience stress-free scheduling. Your time is valuable, so claim your FREE plan today!

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How to create a restaurant business plan

Our experts

Written and reviewed by:.

Following a business plan is like following a tried-and-tested recipe. It allows you to understand exactly what you’ll need, and what it is you want to achieve, before you embark on your venture.

The very process of writing a business plan forces you to finetune your idea, address any weaknesses in your proposition, and foresee any possible challenges.

And if you’re not the most financially astute, it’s also an opportunity to dig down into the numbers and make sure they’re sound before committing cash to launching your restaurant.

This article will spell out everything you need to include in a restaurant business plan:

How to draw up a business plan for a restaurant: key elements, milestones for a restaurant business plan, restaurant financial plan: startup and ongoing costs, writing a business plan for a restaurant: further support.

McDonald’s  brand  mission statement is:

“To be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat and drink.”

For the purposes of this article, we’re going to use a fictional establishment – let’s call it The Goodfare Restaurant – to show you exactly how a restaurant business plan should work in practice.

You can find a more comprehensive breakdown of what to include in a generic business plan here .

* Any resemblance to a real restaurant is entirely coincidental!

Executive summary

This is a brief snapshot of the key information the reader needs to know about The Goodfare Restaurant.

• The restaurant – The Goodfare Restaurant is a 100-seat family eatery in North London, serving moderately-priced comfort food classics
• Your mission statement – The Goodfare Restaurant exists to bring hearty, reasonably-priced grub to the masses
• Objective(s) – to be the most popular moderately-priced eatery in North London
• Values – the customer is almost always right

The company

This section should go into detail about the management team, the legal structure of the business, and operations.

• Founders/management team – Founders Stelmo and Philip Blimp are brothers with a combined 25 years’ experience working in some of the UK’s most successful restaurants
• Ownership structure – The Goodfare Restaurant will be 100% owned by the Blimp brothers (unless equity is given away as part of an investment deal)
• Legal and insurance – The restaurant will abide by all UK health and safety laws, as well as food hygiene legislation etc.
• Startup costs – We estimate initial startup costs for The Goodfare Restaurant will total £150,000, self-funded by the Blimps
• Property – The 2,000 square foot property has space for 100 covers. It comes fitted with a functioning kitchen and bathrooms, but will require some minor renovation
• Location – The restaurant is located on the high street in an area of high footfall
• Opening hours – Monday to Friday – 11am to 11pm
• Responsibilities – Stelmo will be responsible for stock management and finances, while Philip will be in charge of managing staff and payroll
• Suppliers – Thanks to their years of experience in the industry, the Blimps have excellent relationships with a number of quality local suppliers

Market analysis

This section is where you prove the viability of your proposition with thorough market research.

• The industry – over the last two years, London’s restaurant industry has seen the highest level of closures in decades, as well as very high staff turnover. Chains and high end establishments have been hit particularly hard, with consumers hankering for more authentic independents like The Goodfare Restaurant
• The target market – The local population of around 260,000 people is comprised of young professionals and families, with a median annual income of £40,000
• Competitors – There are three direct competitors within a five-mile radius, including:

The Goodfare Restaurant will position itself as the number one mid-range family restaurant in North London.

We will incorporate traditional and digital marketing elements in our strategy. Primarily, we will:

• Develop relationships with local businesses by offering lunchtime deals
• Implement a loyalty scheme
• Encourage repeat visits through our email database

The below is a rough breakdown of the expected costs of starting and running The Goodfare Restaurant, and the revenue generated assuming an average table turnover rate (i.e. the number of daily sittings at each table) of 2.5.

A good rule of thumb is that you want to be turning over your tables every 45 to 90 minutes during busy periods.

Here are some other restaurant metrics you could track.

Startup costs – The Blimp brothers will provide the estimated £150,000 startup costs

Important assumptions – For the purposes of this business plan, we will assume the following:

• Average customer spend of £20
• Average 250 covers served per day
• Average meal cost of £3.50
• 10 waiting and bar staff on average salary of £18,000*
• 10 kitchen staff on average annual salary of £24,000
• Two managers and one head chef on average annual salary of £30,000
• Two cleaners on average salary of £17,000
• Sales forecast – Based on assumed daily covers and average spend, we estimate an annual revenue of £1,825,000 in the first year

Staff salary cost: £544,000

Average variable meal cost: £319,375

Annual rent: £365,000

Other running and maintenance costs: £91,250**

Total annual expenses for year one = £1,319,625

• Startup costs = £1,469,625

Estimated year one profit of: £505,375

*Salaries based on data from Glassdoor

**The average restaurant budgets 1-3% of revenue for maintenance, according to restaurantequipmentrepair.org  

This is a very basic (and perhaps generous) breakdown of the estimated revenue and running costs of a restaurant in London.

You may have to provide a more granular account of your monthly expenditure and revenue sources in order to convince investors that your financials are sound.

Milestones are clearly defined targets you hope to achieve within a given time. Not only are they a way to measure the progress of your restaurant, but they’re a good way to motivate your team towards a common goal.

You can set milestones in a table like the one below.

Think SMART. For each milestone, you should:

• Clearly define a completion target
• Set a realistic deadline
• Assign a responsible stakeholder
• Make sure it’s actually achievable!

Your monthly costs and revenue can fluctuate wildly throughout the year at the mercy of seasonality, tightening purse strings, scarcity of supplies, and fierce competition.

The only certainty is that you can break your costs down into three types:

• One-off costs – licences and permits, property deposit, equipment, fixtures and fittings
• Fixed costs – rent or mortgage, salaries
• Variable costs – food supplies, hourly wages, utilities, maintenance and repairs

It’s easy to budget for those one-off and fixed costs, but make sure your financial planning is sufficiently flexible to account for the variables, as well as any other surprises.

You don’t want to be broadsided by some act of god (fire, flood etc.) or a sudden dip in customers, and not have the cashflow to ride it out.

Gross profit margins – pricing your food

Gross margin is the difference between cost of goods sold and revenue, divided by revenue.

Expressed as a percentage, it shows how effectively your restaurant is generating revenue for each pound spent.

Most restaurants aim for a gross profit margin of 65%. So, if it costs you £3.50 to produce a meal, you should sell the dish for £10.

It might look like a decent profit percentage, but a good portion of that 65% is going to be eaten up by your other ongoing expenses.

Securing funding with a restaurant business plan

So, how can this document help you to secure funding?

Investors are looking for unique ideas with high potential to deliver significant returns. They’re also looking for a talented management team with a clear and compelling vision for their business.

A comprehensive business plan should be proof that your business meets these key criteria. If done right, your plan says: “This is why you should invest in my business over any other.”

If you’ve already written your business plan, you could be eligible to win investment from the Start Up Series – a monthly equity seed funding competition that gives early and growth stage businesses the chance to receive up to £150,000 and £250,000 respectively in SEIS or EIS funding.

Veggie hot dog startup Not Dogs secured funding in December 2016, which it used to employ 12 new team members and revamp its Birmingham restaurant.

There are countless restaurant-specific templates online that you could base your business plan on.

But there’s no perfect industry standard you have to meet.

Most importantly, your financials must be credible, your goals should be ambitious but achievable, and your plan needs to be comprehensible to someone who isn’t you.

Don’t get too obsessed with meeting targets and sticking rigidly to the original plan. Circumstances are bound to change, so you should allow yourself the freedom to alter your course and bounce back from setbacks with a new approach.

This is never more true than in the restaurant sector, where circumstances can change faster than you can say “ready, steady, cook”.

We have a whole suite of pages on every aspect of starting and running a restaurant, which you can find here:

• How to start a restaurant 
• Restaurant marketing 
• Restaurant website design 
• Restaurant management software 

Written by:

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Restaurant Management

How to Write a Successful Restaurant Business Plan

Table of Contents

Restaurant Business Plan

Have you made the exciting decision to open a restaurant? After careful consideration, are you now in a position to turn your dream into reality? Your next step is to understand the importance of a well-structured restaurant business plan. This article will guide you and instil a sense of preparedness and confidence as you embark on this journey.

The restaurant industry is used to the phrase “Fail to plan, plan to fail.” Benjamin Franklin is credited with the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” He was getting at the idea that being successful is not something that just happens by chance.

Regardless of the time you invest in developing your concept and researching the business, the success of your restaurant hinges on one key factor: planning. Without proper planning, your efforts will be in vain.

The following is a summary of the steps involved in developing a business and financial strategy.

The business and financial plan for a restaurant is a comprehensive document, addressing eleven different components. Each of these components provides a detailed insight into the various aspects of your restaurant’s operations, ensuring you are well-informed and reassured about your venture.

A restaurant business plan is a framework that guides you in planning and forecasting every element of restaurant management and operations.

This includes everything from the menu design to the location, finances, employee training, and much more. It also assists in making your restaurant ideas a reality.

Why is it Necessary to Have a Business Plan for a Restaurant?

Because the process can be rather challenging and time-consuming, many first-time restaurant owners are unable to create a thoroughly thought-out restaurant business plan.

Without a solid business plan, you risk not only failing to attract an investor but also financial ruin due to a lack of proper planning, adherence to rules and regulations, and accurate projections.

Your restaurant business plan will be the document that outlines how you want to earn a profit from your business, where your restaurant fits into the competitive market, and how you intend to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Remember, the long-term rewards of a successful restaurant far outweigh the initial investment of time and effort required to get it off the ground.

How to Put Together a Business Plan for a Restaurant?

Keep in mind that a successful restaurant business plan is not a one-size-fits-all document. It must be tailored to your specific restaurant and take into account a variety of factors, including the type of restaurant, the target market, the location, etc.

Developing a restaurant business plan can seem like an overwhelming task for those just starting out in the hospitality industry.

To get started on the right footing, you must outline the most critical components of a restaurant business plan that you must incorporate.

It is possible to rearrange the sections of your business plan to highlight their relative importance, depending on the audience to whom you will be presenting them.

Restaurant Business Plan – Key Components

The most important aspects of a business strategy for a restaurant are as follows:

• An Executive Synopsis
• A description of the company
• A study of the market
• Restaurant Design
• Analysis of the Market
• Help from outside sources

Financial Analysis

Long-term development and exit plans, a summary for executive.

An executive summary should always serve as the first section of a restaurant’s business plan.

In addition to playing the role of an introduction to your business plan, an executive summary can also be used to provide a synopsis of the overall concept. The primary objective of an executive summary is to pique the interest of the reader, who is often an investor, in continuing with the remainder of your business plan.

The following are typical components of an executive summary: a statement of the mission.

• “Concept to be Proposed” “Execution”
• A cursory examination of the possible expenditures
• ‘Anticipated rates of return on investments

Those who are trying to attract investors to fund their ventures need to have an executive summary prepared.

They only need to read the executive summary of the restaurant’s business plan to obtain all of the information they need, rather than having to go through the trouble of reading the complete restaurant business plan.

A Description of the Company

When it comes to the restaurant business plan, this is the section in which you give a comprehensive overview of the organisation.

You should begin this section by stating the name of the restaurant you are going to operate, as well as the location, contacts, and any other pertinent information. Include the owner’s contact information as well as a summary of their professional background.

The second section of the company description needs to describe the restaurant’s short-term and long-term objectives, in addition to providing an overview of the restaurant’s legal position.

Present concise market research demonstrating that you have an understanding of the current trends in the regional food sector as well as the reasons why the restaurant will be successful in this market.

In this section, you will discuss the type of legal organisation that will be in charge of operating the restaurant. This section includes important details, such as who started the business, what assets it has, and what kind it is.

Additional information, such as the goals and ambitions of the organization, the company’s identity, and so on, is also included.

This section would also include a description of the type of restaurant that is going to be constructed, as well as the location, size, and broad target market of the restaurant, in addition to other particulars that would assist in establishing the restaurant’s identity.

An Analysis of the Restaurant Industry

This section offers a comprehensive summary of the restaurant business. This section will need a great deal of research to provide credible information on previous trends as well as the expected performance of the industry in the future.

Market Analysis , generally speaking, is the market study section of a restaurant business plan and is broken up into three distinct sections.

Market Research and Analysis

• Who exactly is your intended audience?
• Which specific subsets of the population will your restaurant serve?

In this section, you will explain to potential investors who your target market is, as well as the reasons you believe customers will choose our restaurant over competitors.

Analysis of the Competition

It is simple to suppose that everyone will dine at your restaurant; but, to make this presumption a reality, you must investigate your competitors.

Which local restaurants have already developed a loyal following of customers in this region?

Note everything, from the prices and hours of operation to the structure of the menu and the atmosphere of the restaurant. Then you should tell your investors how your restaurant would be different from others in the industry.

Marketing Analysis

Your potential investors are going to be interested in learning more about your restaurant’s marketing strategy. How are your marketing campaigns going to be different from what others are already doing in this space?

• How do you want to ensure that you capture your target market?
• What kinds of amenities and services will you make available to your guests?

Be careful to include everything on the list, the target audience should be discussed in this section of the report. This will provide you with the demographic information of your prospective customers as well as the location from where they would be travelling to your restaurant.

The section should also include an overview of market trends, such as population growth, along with a discussion of other factors that may affect the way the restaurant conducts its business.

Competitors: this section presents the profiles of possible rivals in the market.

Discuss the various restaurants in the surrounding area. Then, a more in-depth discussion of the restaurants that cater to the same demographic will take place.

Following this, the projected competitive approach will be explained, along with an analysis of how the proposed restaurant would differ from other existing restaurants.

Restaurant Management Structure For A Successful Business

The restaurant’s menu is not just a component but the cornerstone of your business’s success. It’s the first thing your customers interact with, and it sets the tone for their entire dining experience.

As you write your business plan, remember that you are not just creating a mock-up menu, but shaping the future of your restaurant. Your decisions now will impact the dining experience of your future customers .

Include your company’s logo in the mock-up, and select a layout you could see yourself employed in the future.

There is a wealth of information available online that can assist you if you are having problems designing a menu or do not wish to employ a designer.

However, the prices should be the most prominent feature of your menu example. Your pricing structure should reflect the cost analysis you did for investors.

Because of this, they will better understand the pricing point your business aims for. You’ll see how significant menu engineering can be, even at the beginning of the process.

This section will also include the proposed general production strategy, which will outline how the food and any other relevant production stages would be carried out.

In addition, how the service will be provided to the customer will be discussed.

Management and Organisation

This area should be used to develop the restaurant management team to its utmost potential .

The investors anticipate that you have yet to choose every team member at this stage, but they expect you will have at least some people on board.

Use the talent you have selected so far to emphasise the total years of professional experience each individual brings to the table.

In this section, you will find profiles of the restaurant’s management team and staff members. This meeting will cover the company’s essential workers and key management, as well as its board of directors.

The structure of the compensation and incentive system will be dissected in this session. A more in-depth discussion will be had on the organisational structure and management philosophy.

The Design of the Restaurant

In the section of your restaurant business plan devoted to the restaurant’s design, you will have the exciting opportunity to present the investors with a comprehensive overview of your most innovative ideas and concepts, sparking their interest and curiosity.

You don’t need to have generated professional mock-ups of your restaurant at this point.

Instead, you should create a mood board to communicate your concept effectively. Find photographs of restaurants with an aesthetic comparable to what you want for your establishment.

Beyond simple aesthetics, the restaurant’s design should also consider the hardware and software used in the restaurant and the furnishings in the kitchen.

The location of your restaurant is extremely important, and it must be appropriate for the clientele you intend to attract. At this stage, you may not have a specific place reserved, but you should have several options available to pick from.

When you are speaking with your investors about various locations for your restaurant, you should provide as much information as you can about each potential location and the reasons why it would be an excellent choice. Include every relevant detail, from the total space footage to the normal demographics.

Planning Your Restaurant Management Career: Strategies for Long-Term Success

Marketing Plans and Sales Strategies

This part discusses the approach that will be used to ensure the success of the restaurant .

Here, you’ll find a description of the strategy to break into the market. This part will also detail the many advertising and promotion channels that will be used to market the company.

Because new restaurants are popping up all the time these days, potential investors will be interested in learning how you plan to promote your establishment.

The section concerning marketing and publicity should outline the specific strategies for promoting the restaurant before and after its grand opening.

In addition to any plans, consider engaging a public relations firm to help share and spread information. The amount of money set aside for the marketing strategy will also be detailed.

Market Overview

The market analysis element of the restaurant business plan is closely connected to the market overview section.

In this section, you should provide specific information about the micro and macro conditions that exist in the region where you intend to locate your restaurant.

Discuss the present economic situations that could make it difficult to operate a restaurant, as well as the plans you have in place to combat such difficulties.

Mention all of the restaurants that have the potential to become your competitors, as well as the plan that you have devised to differentiate yourself from them.

In this part of the document, you will discuss the particulars of the operation plan.

The establishment’s furnishings and its many pieces of equipment. The business hours, in addition to the dates of any forthcoming holidays, will be specified.

The topic of discussion will include employee training, in addition to other aspects of human resource management.

Depth, a discussion will be had not only on the systems and controls but also on the production of food and several other services.

External Help

You are going to want a great deal of assistance if you want to be successful in opening a restaurant .

Make a list of any outside businesses or pieces of software that you intend to acquire to get your restaurant up and operating. This covers all service providers, such as accountants and designers, as well as vendors that help your restaurant function better, such as point-of-sale (POS) systems and restaurant reservation systems.

Describe to your potential investors the significance of each investment, as well as the contributions that each will make to your business.

Financial Data and Projections – As you embark on the journey of developing your restaurant, this section is not just a starting point, but the bedrock of your business plan. It provides crucial, up-to-date information on the assets owned by the firm, setting the stage for informed decision-making.

In addition to that, it will provide projections for things like sales, expenses, and earnings.

The section devoted to finances in your restaurant business plan should be considered the plan’s centrepiece. Given the significance of this matter, you are strongly advised to seek a professional’s assistance.

Engaging a qualified accountant is not just a recommendation, but a necessity. Their expertise will not only assist you in organising your financial projections but will also provide you with a realistic and accurate picture of what it’s like to run a restaurant of your own.

It’s important to have some information prepared in advance. This will not only expedite the accountant’s review process but also ensure a more thorough analysis of your restaurant’s financial situation.

He or she will be interested in the number of seats in your restaurant, the expected check average for each table, and the number of customers you intend to accommodate in a single day.

In addition, performing preliminary calculations of the food costs associated with the various items on the menu might help you estimate the profit margin associated with each meal. A free food cost calculator is the easiest way to accomplish this goal.

How To Manage A Restaurant Business Successfully

This section will include a breakdown of the restaurant’s goals, tactics, and significant accomplishments. Additionally, this will suggest the possibility of expansion. The potential dangers will be evaluated.

Understanding the Importance of an Exit Strategy:

An exit strategy is like a roadmap for your restaurant’s future. It outlines what will happen when you’re no longer involved in day-to-day operations.

Imagine you’ve poured your heart and soul into building your restaurant and are now ready to retire or explore new opportunities. An exit strategy ensures your hard work doesn’t go to waste and allows for a graceful transition.

Role of an Exit Strategy in Business Planning:

Having a well-defined exit strategy is crucial for effective business planning. It helps maintain control over your future and ensures your investment isn’t wasted. A clear plan allows you to make decisions aligned with your long-term goals confidently.

Having a restaurant exit strategy offers several benefits, including providing security and peace of mind, alleviating the fear of the unknown, allowing you to retire or pursue new ventures without stress, and ensuring the continued success of your restaurant.

Types of Restaurant Exit Strategies:

You are selling to an Interested Buyer: This is a common strategy in which you sell the business to someone interested in taking over:

• Passing to a Family Member: This can be a viable option if a family member wants to continue the business.
• Liquidating Assets: Selling off restaurant equipment and assets.

Critical Considerations for a Successful Exit:

• Maintain Great Records: Buyers pay more for well-documented financials.
• Lease Transfer: Ensure lease language allows for transfer and options.
• Limit Liability : Address lingering liability in lease terms.
• Options: Ensure options are transferrable to a buyer.

When crafting effective exit strategies, it is essential to get legal advice from a lawyer with experience in commercial retail leases. Feel free to ask if you need further details or have additional questions!

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When opening a restaurant, a well-structured business plan is crucial for guiding management and operations. It’s important to have an exit strategy in place for the future, including maintaining good records, lease transfer, limiting liability, and ensuring transferable options for a buyer. Legal advice from a lawyer experienced in commercial retail leases is essential for effective exit strategies.

The information presented in the business plan’s body will be included in the appendices. The actual menu, financial statements, asset declarations, and other important details should all be packaged into the business plan. It is important to reiterate that a restaurant is, first and foremost, a business and that the financial aspects of its operations are being prioritised. This focus on financial health ensures the business’s stability and growth.

What is a written business plan for a restaurant?

A restaurant business plan is a formal document articulating the concept and details of your business, strategies, and financial forecasts. It serves as a roadmap for launching and successfully growing the establishment. In a restaurant business plan, you will typically find the following key components:

• Executive Summary: An executive summary outlines your restaurant, including its location, concept, and mission.
• Business Overview: Detailed information about your restaurant, such as its name, location, and target market.
• Menu and Products: Describe the types of dishes and beverages you’ll offer.
• Market Analysis: Research your target audience, competitors, and industry trends.
• Marketing and Sales Strategies: How you plan to attract customers and promote your restaurant.
• Operations Plan: Details about daily operations, staffing, suppliers, and equipment.
• Financial Projections: These must include projected revenue, expenses, and profit margins.

What are the seven steps to a perfectly written business plan?

Here are seven steps to guide you in creating a perfectly written plan:

• Research Thoroughly: Invest time in researching your market, competitors, and product. Understand both expected and unexpected expenses related to your business12.
• Define Your Purpose: Clarify the primary goal of your business plan. Think of it as a roadmap guiding your business actions. Once you have a clear purpose, you can set other goals accordingly.
• Create a Company Profile: This section combines information about your products or services, company history, target audience, goals, and unique characteristics. It’s like an “About Us” page for your business.
• Include a Marketing Plan: A successful business plan integrates a robust marketing strategy. Consider objectives like improving existing products, expanding to new territories, and building long-term client relationships.
• Document Everything : Investors expect detailed information about your business. Highlight achievements and plans, covering management, organization, and financial projections.
• Adapt to Your Audience: Customise your plan based on who will read it. Tailor the content to suit potential investors, partners, or other stakeholders.
• Express Your Passion: Convey why you care about your business. Passionate entrepreneurs often attract attention and build trust.

What is the basic planning document for a successful restaurant?

The basic planning document for a successful restaurant is the Restaurant Business Plan. It’s like a detailed map, guiding you through every part of your restaurant’s day-to-day running and management, from menu design and location to financial planning and staff training.

Here are vital components typically included in a restaurant business plan:

• Executive Summary: An executive summary overviews your restaurant’s concept and goals.
• Market Analysis: A comprehensive research of your target market and competitors.
• Menu Planning: Comprehensive menu with pricing strategies.
• Operations Plan: Details about daily operations, staffing, and suppliers.
• Marketing and Advertising Strategies: How you’ll attract customers.
• Financial Projections: Includes Projected revenue, expenses, and profit margins.

Remember, a well-crafted business plan increases your chances of success by preparing you for challenges and attracting investors and partners!

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A comprehensive guide in how to start a restaurant in the uk.

B&F Knowledge Base

• July 7, 2021
• 10 min read
• Writing A Business Plan
• A Comprehensive Guide in How t ...

Creating delicious, innovative and maybe even revolutionary meals for your friends and family could have been your first step to embarking on this journey of being a restaurant owner. Or, the prospects of stepping into an extremely profitable industry could have sparked the idea of opening your restaurant. Whatever your motivation is to start a restaurant in the UK, it goes without saying even the most talented chefs or ambitious entrepreneurs will have multiple battles when becoming restaurant owners. There are many components to consider like what is going to make your restaurant different from the thousands already running so it is paramount you spend time creating something unique. While your dishes will be the heart of your restaurant, a good theme is if not equally important, maybe even more important than the food you plan on serving. A concept is just one of many factors you’ll need to consider before opening a restaurant. As you read further on, I’ll be able to outline exactly how to start a restaurant in the UK, so please continue reading if you’d like a comprehensive but quick break on exactly how to do this.

Create Concept and Brand for Your Restaurant

Firstly like I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to have something that sets you apart from the thousands of restaurants that are available for people to dine in. One way of doing this is by creating a unique concept and clear brand image for your restaurant. When creating a concept for your restaurant it’s important to think of the type of restaurant you want to open, the style of cuisine you’ll serve, what makes your dining experiences personal to you and your restaurant and also how the interior design aligns with your concept. This part of the planning process should be exciting for you and I’m sure you’ll have more than a handful of ideas already in mind to start mapping out. Your restaurant brand should be specific and should be able to communicate your mission and identity to potential visitors. And, the restaurant name, logo, menu design and merchandise should also be aspects that represent the brand and contribute to a cohesive image for your brand. Once you’ve decided on a concept for your restaurant it will make it much easier to have a clear direction when advertising your restaurant which again should match your brand concept. This is something you should think about as it will be what makes your restaurant yours for example McDonald’s red theme colour, bright restaurant interior and large yellow arches make it unique to Burger King even though they are both fast-food restaurants that sell very similar things. In addition, consider location when finalising your concept and image, consider how different demographics need to be marketed to and how your restaurant will be appealing to the demographics in different areas.

Design Menu

You might have guessed this would be the next logical step to make and you’re right, creating a menu is an essential step before opening a restaurant. When building a menu, you should consider many things such as whether the food is enjoyable and inclusive. When deciding, remember that whatever is on your menu will have an impact on how much money you spend, what staff you’ll need to hire, what certain equipment you’ll need and how long your service time will be. Again, considering the demographic is important too when designing your menu. If you want to open an inexpensive fast-food restaurant your area should be in an area full of students and younger people. By the same token if you want to open an upscale restaurant that has a posh dining experience you might want your restaurant location to be in a middle class and wealthy area.

Choose a Location

Where you choose the location of your restaurant to be is a tremendously important feature when it comes to opening it. The wrong location could seriously make or break your restaurant. So, there are a couple of important factors to consider when making this decision. Firstly, the demographics, the location should match the style of food and ambience of your restaurant. Secondly, you should consider the visible and easily accessible will your restaurant be, does the location receive plenty of vehicle and foot traffic which could bring you more customers or is it in an isolated area. You should also consider parking space and will customers be able to easily access this space. Another factor you must take into consideration when deciding on a location is the local competition, you should analyse which restaurants are doing well in the area, is there a space for a restaurant like yours or is it already oversaturated with similar eateries. Finally, take into consideration labor costs. If you’re living in an area with a higher cost of living remember you’ll have to offer a wage high enough to attract qualified workers and this would be important for How to Start a Restaurant in the UK

Start a Restaurant in the UK : Write a Business Plan

Writing a business plan for your restaurant will help you outline everything we’ve discussed, all the finances included with starting a restaurant, competitor analysis and so much more and most importantly a marketing strategy. A business plan will help you organize your marketing strategy as well as help you with pitching for funding if you’d like to acquire funding from investors. It is of paramount importance that the marketing strategy within the business plan outlines how you will reach your potential customers and create a buzz for your restaurant.

Permits and Licenses

To start a new restaurant will mean that you’ll be able to explore interior decoration, food design and so much more but before you can immerse yourself in the creative side there are a handful of local permits and licenses, you’ll need to have first. This means that before you open, we suggest being in contact with legal counsel to guide you so you know exactly what steps to take. Many of the licenses you have to acquire include a business license which all restaurants require, an employee identification number, a food service license, a liquor license and a music license if you want to play copyrighted music in your restaurant. Many of these licenses take a long time and can be costly so we suggest you make this a priority and start applying for them in ample time before you think about setting an opening date.

Design your restaurant setup

When designing your restaurant set up, you’ll need to consider these two components, the layout of the restaurant floor where customers will dine and place their orders and the back of the house, which includes spaces like the kitchen, staff room and storage etc. When creating the layout, you might want to collaborate with someone with custom design expertise as there are many things to keep in mind for example;

Seating Capacity:  Some regulations outline how many people are allowed to be seated in a restaurant’s dining area. To break these regulations, your layout is for a square footage per customer, this will vary depending on the space you’ve decided to rent out.

Furniture and decoration:  Your furniture should not only be practical and comfortable for guests at your establishment but they should also ad hire with your restaurant’s theme. The furniture and decoration will create a particular ambience and feel which will translate to the customers dining experience and help determine whether or not they eat at your restaurant again.

Cleanability:  Your tables, chair, flooring etc should be easily cleanable and also harder to stain. So when picking out furniture remember you want your restaurant to stay in a good condition so pick out furniture like wood floorings and tables and chairs that are easy to clean. I’m sure you can agree food can be very messy.

Here are some considerations to take in when designing your kitchen layout:

• Service  – The service area should be right next to the kitchen. This will help workflow and decrease the risk of a lot of stressful situations because prepared meals will be served quickly.
• Dry and Cold Storage  – These two areas should be close together so that shipments can be put away promptly.
• A large food preparation space  – This space should be spacious so that your staff will be able to perform efficiently. This space will be the heart of your restaurant running so take great consideration of what this space looks like.

The first group of staff you hire are integral to how your restaurant will run, it will set the standard, if you hire the wrong set of staff member your restaurant’s reputation could have a permanent stain by the same token hiring the right people could give your restaurant an excellent reputation which will increase profits in the long run. When hiring staff you’ll need to put them through training programs, offer employee benefits, incentives like staff discounts and offer them a work-life balance so they can work at optimum level.

If you want to hire staff you need to make a list of positions to fill and divide the number of staff you’ll need to cover each task and for how many hours. Your staff requirements will vary based on the number of hours your restaurant opens for and how many shifts you want to run for each day for the front and back of the house.

Market your restaurant

Once all your hard work is done, there will come a time to publicize your restaurant opening to the world. Our current climate makes it a lot easier to market yourself as there are many social channels to go through such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter. Utilizing social media platforms to market your restaurant is essential if your target demographic are young people as they spend the most time on these platforms.  There are many strategies to market your restaurant, you can also go through traditional marketing channels such as newspaper adverts, handing out promotional flyers or hosting a discounted cocktail hour or buffet. If you would like further assistance in creating a marketing strategy you can get in contact with us and we can assist you with that.

The restaurant industry is an exciting and profitable industry to delve into but without a clear plan, you can find yourself worse off than you began. You must have a solid plan and strategy with little expectations, especially in your restaurant’s early stages. I hope this article has given you a small insight into how to start a restaurant in the UK. If you would like to find out how to create a restaurant business plan , marketing strategy or anything else mentioned in this article  please get in contact with us at B&F services so we can help.

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How to write a restaurant business plan

A small restaurant business plan is the roadmap you use to open a successful spot. As a first step to creating yours, ask your friends and colleagues to share restaurant business plan examples. Their restaurant business plan samples can inspire yours.

Once you’ve studied those examples, it’s time to start writing your own. No matter how much thought you’ve put into your concept or how many trusted colleagues have assured you of its greatness, you must write a restaurant business plan. It will prove the viability of your concept to potential investors and provide them with a clear and engaging answer to the question: “Why does the world need this restaurant?”

“The point of a business plan is to show that you’ve done your homework,” says Charles Bililies, owner of Souvla , a fine casual Greek restaurant in San Francisco that has received national acclaim since opening in the spring of 2014.

“You have to show any potential investor that you have an actual plan, you know what you’re talking about, it looks professional, and you’re not just screwing around.”

Quick links Branded cover Table of contents Concept Sample menu Service Management team Design Target market Location Market overview Marketing and publicity Specialists and consultants Business structure Financials

1. Branded cover

Include your logo (even if it’s not finalized), the date, and your name.

2. Table of contents

A table of contents in a restaurant business plan provides an organized overview of the document’s structure and content. It typically appears at the beginning of the plan and lists the major sections and subsections with their corresponding page numbers.

The table of contents is important for several reasons. Firstly, it allows readers to quickly navigate through the plan, enabling easy access to specific sections of interest. Secondly, it helps in presenting a professional and well-structured document, showing that you have carefully organized your thoughts and ideas. It also improves readability and comprehension, as readers can easily locate and refer back to relevant information

3. Restaurant concept

Describe your restaurant concept and get the reader excited about your idea. Specify whether the restaurant will be fine dining or more casual. Include an executive summary and go into detail about the food you’ll be serving, inspiration behind your concept, and an overview of service style.

Define clearly what will be unique about your restaurant and include your mission statement. This section should include a market analysis that shows how your restaurant will be similar and different from competing restaurants.

4. Sample menu

The menu is the most important touchpoint of any restaurant’s brand, so this should be more than just a simple list of items. Incorporate your logo and mock up a formatted menu design (tap a designer for help if needed).

Your sample menu should also include prices that are based on a detailed cost analysis. This will:

• Give investors a clear understanding of your targeted price point
• Provide the info needed to estimate check averages
• Show the numbers used create financial projections for starting costs
• Show investors that you’ve done the homework
• Prove you can stay within a budget

This section is most relevant for:

• Fine-dining concepts
• Concepts that have a unique service style
• Owners who have particularly strong feelings about what role service will play in their restaurant.

It can be a powerful way of conveying your approach to hospitality to investors by explaining the details of the guest’s service experience.

Will your restaurant have counter service and restaurant hostess software designed to get guests on their way as quickly as possible, or will it look more like a theater, with captains putting plates in front of guests simultaneously?

If an extensive wine program is an integral part of what you’re doing, will you have a sommelier? If you don’t feel that service is a noteworthy component of your operation, address it briefly in the concept section.

6. Management team

Write a brief overview of yourself and the team you have established so far. You want to show that your experience has provided you with the necessary skills to run a successful restaurant and act as a restaurant business owner.

Ideally, once you have described the strong suit of every member of your team, you’ll be presenting a full pitch deck. Most independent restaurant investors are in this for more than just money, so giving some indication of what you value and who you are outside of work may also be helpful.

Incorporate some visuals. Create a mood board that shows images related to the design and feeling of your restaurant.

Whether you’re planning to cook in a wood-burning oven or are designing an eclectic front-of-house, be sure to include those ideas. Photos of materials and snippets of other restaurants that you love that are similar to the brand you’re building are also helpful.

8. Target market

Who is going to eat at your restaurant? What do they do for a living, how old are they, and what’s their average income? Once you’ve described them in detail, reiterate why your specific concept will appeal to them.

9. Location

There should be a natural and very clear connection between the information you present in the “Target Market” section and this one. You probably won’t have a specific site identified at this point in the process, but you should talk about viable neighborhoods.

Don’t assume that potential investors will be familiar with the areas you’re discussing and who works or lives there—make the connections clear. You want readers to be confident that your restaurant’s “ideal” diner intersects with the neighborhood(s) you’re proposing as often as possible.

If you don’t have a site , this is a good place to discuss what you’re looking for in terms of square footage, foot traffic, parking, freeway accessibility, outdoor seating , and other important details.

10. Market overview

Address the micro and macro market conditions in your area and how they relate to licenses and permits. At a macro level, what are the local and regional economic conditions?

If restaurants are doing poorly, explain why yours won’t; if restaurants are doing well, explain how you’ll be able to compete in an already booming restaurant climate. At a micro level, discuss who your direct competitors are. Talk about what types of restaurants share your target market and how you’ll differentiate yourself.

11. Marketing and publicity

The restaurant landscape is only getting more competitive. Discuss your pre- and post-opening marketing plans to show investors how you plan to gain traction leading up to opening day, as well as how you’ll keep the momentum going.

If you’re going to retain a PR/marketing company, introduce them and explain why you’ve chosen them over other companies (including some of their best-known clients helps). If not, convey that you have a solid plan in place to generate attention on your own through social media, your website , and media connections.

12. Specialists and consultants

List any outside contractors you plan to retain, such as:

• General contractor
• PR and marketing

Briefly explain the services they’ll be providing for you, why you chose them, and any notable accomplishments.

13. Business structure

This section should be short and sweet. What type of business structure have you set up and why did you make that specific decision? You will need to work with an attorney to help you determine what business structure is best for you.

“Step one: write a business plan. Step two: hire a good attorney. In addition to helping me build a smart, sustainable business structure, my attorney was also a great resource for reviewing my business plan because she’s read thousands of them. She was a very helpful, experienced outside perspective for more than just legal matters,” says Charles Bililies.

14. Financial projections

Let your accountant guide you through this portion of your business plan. It is crucial that whoever you hire to help you with your finances has a wealth of restaurant experience (not just one or two places). They should be familiar with the financial specifics of starting a restaurant and know what questions to ask you.

Before creating realistic financial projections, your accountant will want to know:

• How many seats the restaurant will have
• What your average check will be
• How many covers per day you plan to do

Being conservative in these estimations is key. These three data points will be used as the basis for figuring out whether your concept is financially feasible.

Lou Guerrero, Principal at Kross, Baumgarten, Kniss & Guerrero, emphasizes, “You’ll get a lot of accountants that tell you that they’ve done a couple of restaurants, but you have to choose someone that has a deep expertise in what you’re doing. There’s nothing to gain from going with someone that doesn’t have a very restaurant-centric practice.”

A well-vetted accountant with restaurant experience will know exactly what you’ll need to have prepared to show investors.

The key projections you can expect to work on are:

• Pro forma profit and loss statement for the first three to five years of operation
• Break even analysis
• Capital requirements budget

Writing a comprehensive restaurant business plan is a crucial step towards opening a successful establishment. By seeking inspiration from examples, demonstrating your expertise, and addressing all the essential components, you can prove the viability of your concept to potential investors.

Remember, a well-prepared business plan demonstrates professionalism and a clear understanding of your goals, increasing your chances of achieving long-term success in the competitive restaurant industry.

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How to Start a Restaurant Business in 8 Steps

Owning and running your own restaurant business is many people’s dream; playing host for a living, being on the cutting-edge of food trends, and living a life of creativity and excitement. It can be done – and in the case of many Le Cordon Bleu alumni, it has: Dhruv Mittal , Alexei Zimin and Chris Hammett (among many others) have all become successful restaurateurs. And they all did so with their own styles and visions – whether it’s Dhruv’s DUM Biryani House and Lucknow 49 restaurants in London, Alexei’s numerous restaurant chains in Russia or Chris’s chain in Malta.

But whether it’s opening up a restaurant franchise or a single eatery, it’s a daunting task, so much so that it’s tricky to even know where to start. Will it be a lot of work? Yes, but the the right planning and execution, you can start a successful restaurant business too. To help you get started, we have put together the following guide to answer the most common questions asked on how to start a restaurant business. This is a chronological, step-by-step guide. It starts with education, then looks at securing finance, writing a business plan, what to serve, how to market research and finally tips on choosing a premises.

1. Do I need a culinary degree to open a restaurant?

Not necessarily, but training will help. Owning and/or managing a restaurant is an unusual career, in that it doesn’t always have the same route: Some work their way up from entry-level positions to become sous chefs, head chefs and then owner/managers. Others enter their career at chef level . While others again aim to become owner/managers as soon as possible after graduation.

As for educaton, you might take the route via culinary courses or by gaining a management qualification. Also, unlike some other careers (like medicine, accountancy or law, for instance), you’re not legally required to hold any specific degree, which partly explains why the routes vary so much.

Le Cordon Bleu has been the launch pad for numerous thrilling careers, including those of hugely successful restaurant owners. Some (like Adria Wu and Ronnie Killen ) studied our famous Diplôme de Cuisine . This course teaches the fundamentals in French culinary techniques, which includes a broad range of transferable skills and international cooking styles.

Other successful alumni, like New York restaurateur Brad Farmerie and Radu Ionescu, owner of ΚΛΙΛΜO̲ in Bucharest, studied our Grand Diplôme (Professional Chef Diploma), which combines culinary and pastry techniques.

And, of course, a knowledge of the nuts and bolts of running a hospitality business is a huge plus. So some restaurateurs get started with a hotel and restaurant management course .

2. What Food Should You Serve If Opening a Restaurant?

Like any creative project (from writing a book to opening a restaurant), artistic decisions are often a combination of instinct and examining the market. For the most part, you should follow your passion. The food you love to make will be the food that people love to eat. And your enthusiasm will become expertise in time.

Watch out for Crowded Markets

If the market is saturated, especially in the area where you want to open the restaurant, you should strive to make it special and distinctive. Or offer something that uses some of the same ingredients and appeal, but in a relatively fresh setting; Cuban food instead of Mexican, for example; or stews instead of soups.

Examine the Competition

You might think you can make certain cuisine better than a local restaurant – and there’s every chance you can. But it’s also wise to be aware that the more established restaurant has built up a customer base and a formula that works for them – even if you might not approve of their menu or serving style!

Beware of Fads

It’s good business to keep an eye on trends, as long as you don’t follow them too slavishly. Just because people want to eat (for example) gourmet burgers now, doesn’t mean that they will in five years.

Find Your “Voice”

Your favourite restaurants have a “voice” – a philosophy to dining that’s reflected in the restaurant’s appearance, menu, staff and management. Consider each of those things and find your voice. Take your time, follow your passion, research emerging trends and use your imagination. You are unique, so your vision should be too.

Test Your Menu

More and more frequesntly you see many successful businesses begin as lower (financial) risk ventures such as food trucks , street food stalls or residencies in already established bars and pubs. If you aren't 100% sure on your concept but want to test it out on a portion of your market, why not look at lower entry options to test the water with first? You never know how quickly this kind of venture can escalate into one of London's hottest restaurants, such was the case for Som Saa , which started as a pop-up in Peckham before a 1-year residency at Climpson's Arch garnered it enough notoriety that they launched their permanent site in Spitalfields in 2016.

As with most new restaurant openings, a soft-launch is always advisable. This is not only a way to test out the kitchen and the operational mechanics behind a dinner service, but it also acts as a great way to get customer feedback on what worked and, more importantly, what didn't.

3. What market research should I do before opening a restaurant?

Market research takes many forms, from informal chats to interviews to online surveys.

Street Surveys

The simplest market research is also the most daunting: grabbing a pen and clipboard and going to the area where you want to open the restaurant. Print as many pages as possible and then spend a busy Saturday on the street asking people:

- How often do you go out for dinner on this street? - Would you like a restaurant that serves this kind of food? - What’s your dining budget? (Give them multiple choice) - What kind of restaurant is missing in this area?

If possible, try to get a friend to help you with this. It’ll make that tough Saturday go by faster.

It’s intimidating, but a  terrific source of information straight from the horse’s mouth. And it’s much more valuable than surveys from other areas: Just because the residents of Edinburgh want a new steakhouse, doesn’t mean that the people of Chester do. Chances are, there isn’t specific research available about the dining habits of people who pass by your new restaurant. And if there is, it might be commissioned by a competitor!

Focus Groups

Another option is to assemble a focus group to ask more in-depth questions. This would involve talking to fewer  people, but getting richer, more detailed answers. Source 10 people from the desired demographic (they can be family or friends) and spend a few hours asking them frank questions about what they look for in a restaurant. Try to avoid simple yes or no questions.

Online Surveys

As for online options, you could go with:

Survey Monkey

Survey Monkey carries out online surveys that you can craft yourself, whether you want multiple choice, more in-depth answers or a mix of both. The advantage is that it’s a simple, easy way to cast a wide net quickly. A disadvantage for a restaurant business is that it might not be suited to precise, neighbourhood surveys. Still, this is a handy resource for an overview of an industry.

Fieldbloom is a resource-building tool, which means that you can use it to build up contacts and market research leads. It’s quite fun and user-friendly for survey participants, but again, is best suited to big picture information.

AYTM is handy for in-depth figures and market research. They can also help pinpoint demographics to talk to. If the survey is carried out with care, there should be data that would be useful to bring to potential lenders or investors.

Market Research Companies

You can also hire a third-party market research company to carry out some of this work. However, when doing this, make sure you’re clear about the information you need before meeting any market researcher.

The Truth Hurts (Sometimes!)

Be prepared to hear some things you don’t want to hear. Some answers might be disappointing, but you’re better off finding out what the public thinks at this stage than after you’ve invested too much time and money into your project.

Market research is not only useful for your own information, but it comes in very handy in the financing stage. Being able to tell a lender that (say) 80% of people surveyed in the area want a restaurant of this type is very compelling.

Once you’ve got the know-how, you’ll need the startup capital…

4. How do you finance a restaurant?

It’s no secret that you’ll need capital to start your new restaurant business (more on that later), but who will finance your dream?

For Le Cordon Bleu graduates who wish to open their own restaurant, London is a common location. And thankfully, there are finance options for those who want to open a restaurant in the UK.

Going the conventional route, many major businesses have gotten started with a small loan. Take your time before setting a meeting, and take this time to accumulate as much information as possible, including:

- Projected costs - Expected revenue - Market research - Existing resources - A glowing biography of yourself!

Most of this information will be in good business plan, which we’ll discuss later.

Public Funding

Beyond banks, there are publicly funded websites offering advice on how to acquire funding, and help goes further than finance: The UK’s start-up loan scheme, for example, provides loans as well as mentoring and support for those starting out. There are hundreds of schemes – some specific to regions, others to industry – available now, offering everything from information to cash. And for those who are struggling to acquire funding through conventional bank loans, there are government-backed alterntives .

Crowdfunding

If you think your idea is especially exciting, and you have access to the eyes and ears of a lot of people (a good social media following, for example), maybe crowdfunding is an option? This isn’t as wild as it sounds: numerous restaurants and bars, from Chester’s Burnt Truffle to Dublin’s bar/restaurant/arcade Token have gotten some cash inflow from crowdfunding.

Online Lenders

Online personal lenders are also becoming increasingly popular, as more and more banking is done online. They follow many of the same requirements as traditional banks. And credit unions, which often offer low interest loan rates, are going through a renaissance.

Friends and Family

Another option is personal loans from friends and family. This is often fraught – do you really want to be discussing your loans with family members at weddings and birthdays? However, it can work. A good rule of thumb is to only borrow what the lender can very, very easily afford to provide!

Whichever path you choose, it’s imperative that you shop around: find the interest rates, conditions and track record that suit your needs.

Once you’ve decided on where to get that capital, you’ll need to know how much you need.

Read more about restaurant financing options .

5. How much does it cost to start your own restaurant?

This is a broad question, but knowledge and research on the kind of restaurant you want will provide answers.

For example, if you want to open an eatery in London, rents would be higher than in, say, Edinburgh or Madrid. And naturally, a food truck is cheaper than a bricks and mortar premises.

Rental Costs

Going with renting in Suburban London, expect to pay somewhere in the neighbourhood of £10-20 per square foot per month in rent (according to Bright Ideas Trust ). That might not sound like much, but 200 square feet is about the size of a one-car garage! Or, to put it another way, a fine dining restaurant would need about 20 feet per person while a more casual restaurant would require about 10.

You would also need to allow about 40% of that space for the kitchen, storage and bathrooms and the remaining 60 for dining space.

Location, Location, Location

So that’s – conservatively - £4,000 per month for a small London suburban space. London business rental space is notoriously expensive, though, so you can lop that price if you’re setting up your restaurant in Amsterdam or Prague, where rents can be less than half what they are in London.

Across the Pond, Oklahoma recently topped a survey for the best place in America to open a restaurant.

Other Costs

Other costs include staff, equipment, licenses and permits, supplies (uniforms, janitorial and ingredients), utility bills and possibly renovation.

Prices vary according to food type, restaurant size and location (among other factors), but all told,the establishing costs run from the early thousands (say for a food stall or food truck) to a six-figure sum.

This becomes clearer the more research you put into your business plan.

6. How to write a restaurant business plan

A good restaurant business plan combines your burning passion for the project with solid research. You want readers of this business plan to become just as excited about your restaurant as you are. And, of course, it will help you to understand what you need to get started.

Here’s what to include:

1- A branded cover

Show the name of the eatery in the font and style that you intend.

2- The restaurant brand and philosophy

What kind of restaurant is it? Why this particular food? Why now? What inspired you to do this? What sets the restaurant apart?

3- An example of the menu

Not only will this paint a clear picture of the restaurant, but it will spark the imagination of the reader. Also, importantly, it will give an outline of the prices charged and whether it’s a high-end or casual experience. Finally, the language should convey what’s special about the dishes.

4- Service style

This is an opportunity to convey your views on service – how you’ll run an efficient business and how you’ll keep the customers coming back for more. For instance, is speed of service more important to you than a gentler, sit-down experience? Will dishes be presented by the cook in a window, or will waiting staff enter and exit the kitchen? Will you have a host? Or a sommelier ?

5- The team

Who’ll be working there? Does your chef or manager have form in working in successful restaurants? Don’t be afraid to brag.

This could be a mood board or sample stock photos, intended to give an image of what the restaurant and meals will look like.

7- Demographics

Who do you hope will be eating in your restaurant? Young professionals? Seasoned diners? Early adopters of chic new dining trends? Do some research on who your intended audience is.

8- Location

You may not know quite where the address is yet, but you should know the neighbourhood or at least the kind of neighbourhood it will be in. Also, potential investors may not know much about this area, so tell them: Describe other businesses in the area, the kind of demographics who live there (Professionals? Families? Young couples?) and the football: For example, is it right next to a busy train station? Is it becoming known as a restaurant hub? Is it the kind of place people go for breakfast, dinner or lunch?

9- The Market

Explain why your restaurant is filling a gap in the market. Is it fulfilling a need? Is it on the crest of a trend? If it’s a busy market, acknowledge that and explain why your restaurant is special. Don’t fudge on it: if you’re confident in your restaurant you should be excited to talk about what makes it unique.

10-Marketing

Tell how you’ll spread the word (and if you already have). This might be local advertising, a PR team, a press release, a launch, social media or something more innovative. If you have an intended marketing budget and you know how to spend it, this is the time to bring it up.

11-Financials

Arguably the most challenging part of this document, take the time to talk to an accountant who’s experienced in the restaurant business while drawing up the financials. You should have an outline of staff costs, rent, utilities, one-off costs (like equipment), and supply costs. Also look at incoming – expected average bill from a diner, restaurant capacity, expected peak times, whether you’ll partner with a food delivery company, and margins on food, coffee and wines. These numbers are not only essential for securing financing: They’ll also keep you in check and warn you of potetial pitfalls in the future. At this stage, you might want to start looking into paperwork and permits.

7. What permits are required to open a restaurant?

Paperwork is an inevitable part of business life, and this is especially the case when it comes to opening a restaurant. After all, isn’t it reassuring to know that your favourite eatery is compliant with legal, hygiene and public noise rules?

These are UK-specific, but many of the following will have an equivalent in every territory (you will need licenses and insurance regardless of where in the world you open!).

You will need:

Food hygiene certificate

This is important not only for opening your restaurant, but for keeping it open! Inspectors can visit unannounced to ensure that your health, safety and hygiene are up to scratch. And if the inspector is not satisfied that your restaurant business is adhering to the official food safety regulations , they have the power to shut you down.

Pest control regulations

Legally, you’re obligated to have “adequate procedures” for pest control in place. They are also included in the hygiene regulations link above.

Food premises approval

This is a requirement for any restaurant handling meat, fish or dairy. (So, in other words, essential unless you’re a strict vegan operation.) Find out more about food premises approval applications .

This would be public liability insurance. It’s a legal requirement, but you’ll be grateful for this if anyone (for example) takes a fall in your restaurant.

Alcohol license

You can apply for a license for your local area . Obviously, this isn’t necessary if you don’t serve any alcohol.

Building permit

Even if you move straight into a restaurant without making any renovations, you might need a building permit for alterations in the future.

Planning permission

This doesn’t just apply to building a place from scratch. If you’re changing the use of a building (i.e. if it wasn’t a restaurant when you rented it), you’ll need to make sure that you’re allowed to use it to make and serve food. Here’s a link to the planning permission paperwork .

8. How do I choose a restaurant’s premises?

A restaurant’s location is a balancing act – enjoying the maximum football possible at an affordable price.

Established vs Emerging Areas

By all means, if you can afford to open in a busy thoroughfare, you should. But also keep an eye out for places with potential; quirky or distinctive entrepreneurs and restaurateurs priced out of desirable areas often move into more affordable ones, creating new restaurant districts. Classic examples include New York’s Brooklyn, London’s Camden or Dublin’s Stoneybatter.

Parking is undeniably a plus, but not necessarily essential if the restaurant has good public transport links or if it’s in close walking distance to a large target market.

Market Gaps in the Area

Another consideration is clear gaps in the market: Examples might be a busy shopping area with nowhere for brunch; a street full of restaurants with limited vegan or vegetarian options; or an office district with nowhere for tasty, fast lunches.

Converted Spaces vs Old Restaurant Premises

When it comes to the premises itself, yes, converted spaces are a possibility and they can have great character. But in general, you’re better off using a space that’s previously been used as a restaurant: It will have a built-in infrastructure and appropriate layout.

Light and Space

Consider natural light, ventilation, how many people can comfortably dine and work there (in winter and summer!). It should have space for waiting staff to work and manoeuvre between tables, and then cooking and prep space. What looks enormous on first glance might quickly shrink once you add tables, a bar, a host’s station, a coffee dock and other equipment. Don’t forget how many diners your business plan says you need.

This applies to back of house too – where a full, stocked kitchen; staff; a large fridge (likely walk-in size) and storage will be.

Bring a Friend!

And finally, it’s recommended – if not essenitial – to bring someone with restaurant experience with you to check out any potential location. They will see potential advantages or problems that might not be obvious to a newcomer.

Your New Career Starts Here

There’s a lot to consider before opening night of your new restaurant, but as many of our graduates have proven, it can be done. The longest journey starts with a single step. Whether that step involves creating a perfect main course, seeing a gap in the market or something else, is up to you – the person with the vision.

We have a range of professional cookery courses and available at Le Cordon Bleu, for every stage and direction of a hospitality career.

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RESTAURANT BUSINESS PLAN: Best Easy Guide in 2023

• by Kenechukwu Muoghalu
• August 13, 2023

Table of Contents Hide

What is a restaurant business plan, why is a restaurant business plan important, #1. table of contents, #2. executive summary, #3. company overview, #4. business concept, #5. menu and services, #6. market analysis, #7. sales and marketing, #8. business operations, #9. financial plan, #1. keep it short, #2. know your audience, #3. keep your plan unique, restaurant business plan uk example template, wish to know an easier way to get a restaurant business plan, final thoughts, how much investment is required to open a restaurant uk, what food has the highest profit margin, how much do restaurant owners make in uk, what license do i need to open a restaurant uk.

If the success of your new restaurant business is your top priority, then get a good business plan. Running your own restaurant business can be exciting and rewarding, but you will need more than an idea to get your dreams running, you will need a plan. With this article, you will be exposed to the importance of a plan and how to write a business plan for your restaurant business. You will also get access to our UK example template which will serve as a guide on how you can start a restaurant business plan. 

Does the process seem too overwhelming already? Then stick with our pre-made restaurant business plan and if not, let’s get down to business. 

A restaurant business plan is a living document that describes your restaurant goals and maps out clear steps you can take to achieve those goals. A business plan is a document that also contains some important sections of your business that can help describe the nature of your business. With this much information about your restaurant business, you will be able to handle it effectively.

Having a business plan can help you solidify every inch of your business, from the boots on the ground to the highest pitch of your company. If you have made plans on how you want to start a restaurant business without including a plan, you may not be able to keep your doors open for long, if at all.

What about not having enough capital? Do you know that without the presence of a professional business plan, you will find it difficult to obtain funding from an investor or a bank? Even if funding isn’t a primary concern, a business plan provides you with clear direction on how to create actionable plans that can help you attain your goals. 

Having known the essence of a restaurant business plan, let’s look at how to write a business plan for your restaurant, with or without a UK example template. 

How to Write a Business Plan for a Restaurant

To own a professional business plan that can serve its full purpose, you will need to learn some unique tweaks on how to write a business plan for your restaurant. In this section, you will get to see what to include in your plan and a brief explanation of each component. 

A proper business plan is usually a long document and to save your readers from the stress of looking for a particular section, you need to have a table of content. Your business plan can contain 10 to 50 pages, but a table of content will make it easier to access. While doing this, also ensure that the page numbers are accurate. 

The executive summary of your business plan should contain a brief snapshot of some key information the reader needs to know about your restaurant business. Give a clear description of your restaurant and also include your mission statement in this section. You can add your company’s objectives and values as well. While doing this, endeavor to keep your language clear and concise. 

This section should contain an in-depth analysis of your business. You can start with your legal name, type of business you offer, website, or social media handles. This section can also serve as an area of interest when seeking a bank loan or investors. You can also describe what your business will look like and the kind of vibe it will have. You can include your goals and the structure of your business. 

Your business concept should be your idea. Tell your readers why your business is different from other vendors. Talk about your uniqueness in the industry and why people should choose your restaurant over others. 

In this section of your restaurant business plan, you will need to include a sample menu of the product you will offer. Would you offer catering and delivery services? What about canned foods, pre-packaged foods, or bottled drinks? Make sure to include any of the options that apply to you.

Your market analysis is where you will get to discuss the current status of your business in the marketplace. Do not try to over-exaggerate the information you give out. You must be clear and accurate while writing this section. Before you start this section of your restaurant business plan, you also need to know how your target market works. Give a brief overview of the market segment, your customers, market trends, competition, opportunities, and challenges. 

Sales are an important sector of every business because, without customers and sales, your business won’t grow. For this section, you will need to have a marketing strategy . Tell your readers how you will appeal to your customers, promote your business and create awareness for your business. You can also include your pricing. Remember that your method of promotion can either be traditional or online. Describe which method you would be using and how. 

This section on how to write or start a restaurant business plan mainly covers how you will execute your business plans. Who will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of your business? In addition to that, you will also need to introduce everyone on your management team to their different roles. Mention your licensing, insurance, and suppliers.

If you intend on aging an outside investment or loan, then you should pay special attention to this financial plan section of your restaurant business plan. You must provide your sales forecast, income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet. 

Factors to Consider When Writing a Restaurant Business Plan

While composing your business plan, remember that you need to keep it short, clear, and concise. This action will enable your reader to access your information easily. 

Before you start, it is best to understand who your readers are and their purpose in your business. Are you writing for the bank or an investor, a potential business partner, or for personal use? This should help you know how best to tone your language so that your readers can easily comprehend it. Different audiences will be interested in different sections, so know which section to dedicate more time to composing. 

Writing a business plan can be easy for some people and hard for others. But either of these reasons should not stop you from composing a good business plan. Either you write a winning business plan yourself or you get help from a professional. 

It is important to note that aside from having a business plan, there are more crucial steps on how you can start a restaurant business. The essence of this UK restaurant business plan example template is to ensure that you observe all those necessary steps that can help you start your business. The checklist below will serve as a reminder. 

• Create a concept
• Select a name
• Compose a business plan
• Have financial projections
• Approved legal aspects
• Employ your management team
• Promote your business
• Provide delicious meals

When it comes down to creating a business plan, not everyone has the patience and understanding to compose one. If you find yourself in this situation, you can curtail this issue by getting our professional pre-made restaurant business plan .

At Businessyield Consult, we have a specialization in helping entrepreneurs like you get a business plan. With our team of experts, we have succeeded in enhancing the growth of multiple businesses through our business plans. You can save yourself the whole stress and get a good plan now !

Once you are ready to start or develop your new or existing restaurant business, don’t think twice about getting a plan. A plan shows how much dedication and milestones you can cross. Most entrepreneurs run from owning a business plan because of the stress of creating one. That is why we have also provided a ready-made plan that will suit you. Now that you have new excuses, go get a plan and curb most of those loopholes in your business. 

Opening a new restaurant business in the UK should cover a total estimated cost of £42,000. This fee covers an initial housing fee, your setup cost, and legal advice. Most times it can be higher or lower depending on the environment you are starting off. As a starter, it is safe to set up a small restaurant and grow from there. 

If you are still deciding on the type of restaurant to open, a coffee store would not be a bad investment. The highest profit margin for food is coffee. The coffee industry keeps booming every minute. 

A restaurant owner can make a total of £92, 240 per year and as a low earner, you can also make up to £18, 562 per year.

You need a premises license, which covers your business premises, and also a personal license, which can identify that you are the owner of the business. 

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Business planner: a guide on business plan.

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Last Updated on August 15, 2023 by Kenechukwu Muoghalu

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Business plan template for food and drink companies

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Stacey has more than 18 years of editorial, PR and social media experience and has worked across print and online for national newspapers, magazines, PR and marketing agencies.

If you’re thinking of setting up a new food and drink venture, creating a business plan may not be the most exciting item on your to-do list but it’s a good idea to make it a priority.

Whether it’s a coffee shop, restaurant, bar or street food truck you want to set up, having a proper business plan in place will maximise your chances of making your dream profitable.

What is a business plan?

Successful businesses are driven by passion but your skills, enthusiasm and hard work need to be underpinned by a practical framework.

Your business plan forms the core of that framework. It’s a document that maps out the nature and purpose of your company, as well as its strengths, weaknesses and strategic goals.

Writing a business plan for your food and drink company will help you define your unique selling proposition as well as aiding your understanding of the marketplace and competition. It’ll also encourage you to establish and work towards realistic milestones that will help your business to grow.

As your food and drink business grows and the marketplace you operate in evolves, the things you’ll have to do to ensure your business continues to thrive will change too. Therefore, your business plan won’t just be a document you create as you are setting up a business.

It should be regularly updated and used to help you and your colleagues or employees continue to be a success.

Something that can also help your planning is a Business Model Canvas . It is a handy tool to help you build out your business plan.

Why should you have a business plan?

• A well-researched business plan shows that you take your catering or hospitality business seriously and if you’re looking for partners, investors or funding, you’ll most likely need one.
• Creating a business plan will help you identify any threats and challenges that your food and drink company might face, encouraging you to come up with effective solutions.
• By drafting your financial model, including cash flow and financial projections, a business plan will help you work out if, how and when your idea will make money.
• You’ll be signposting a path to business growth by planning short and long-term milestones.
• Part of your business plan requires in-depth customer analysis. Doing this means you’ll gain a better understanding of your target audiences, as well as their needs, preferences and priorities.
• You’ll be able to benchmark your company’s performance by comparing results and achievements to the goals set out in your business plan.

Want to set up your own food or drink company? Don’t forget your business plan

How to write a business plan for a food and drink company

There are no set rules for what a business plan should look like or cover. But if you plan on using it to help secure funding, there are certain things readers will expect to see in there:

• Executive summary
• Business overview
• Audience and market
• Products and services

Following this structure will enable you to use your overarching business plan to help make decisions and run your business day to day. It will also support you in making a compelling case for investments or business loans.

It is important to take your time and be thorough in your research while ensuring the content of the plan remains realistic and factually accurate. This is critical when it comes to the financial elements of your plan, so you may want to take a look at our tips on how to get more accurate figures for your business plan .

However, that doesn’t mean it has to be a dry, boring document – investors say they invest as much in the people as they do the business – so let your passion and personality shine through.

Making the most of your business plan

As your food and drink business plan will contain lots of really useful information as well as your overall vision (with enough detail to implement it), it should be used as the starting point for many of your activities and tactical plans for specific elements of your organisation.

It’s a good idea to check in on your SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based) goals monthly to make sure you’re on track, and to add constructive customer feedback to your plan.

You should also try to review your full business plan annually. Business planning is an ongoing process, so think about whether you need to update your document to reflect any changes to your company, technology, competition or the marketplace.

Ready to get started with your business plan?

Your accountant or your bank’s small business adviser may be able to give you tips and ideas, or you could use an online template. To help you out, we’ve created a business plan template specifically for food and drink businesses.

Our free-to-download template has detailed guidance notes too, which will help you include all the information necessary to help you make your endeavour a success and provide potential investors with the facts and detail they’d expect to see.

Want to create a business plan for your food or drink company but not sure how to do it? Download our free and easy-to-use business plan template and you can get started.

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See advice specific to your business

As anyone who spends time within the hospitality industry will know, it’s a very cut-throat and competitive location to work within. This is why having a business plan for restaurant development is so important; with so much competition, it takes something particular to catch the eye of the right people. It’s one of the main reasons why having a business plan matters so much; from a cake shop or bakery to a fast food restaurant, the idea has to be built upon fact and figures.

Writing a business plan, though, can be a significant challenge. If you want to be able to catch the eye of investors and planners, then you need to show a cohesive and intelligent plan of action for them to be able to trust in you. Knowing how to write a plan is tough work, though, so let’s take a look at some of the key areas that you would expect to see in a well-written business plan.

Since your business plan serves as a financial roadmap as much as an analytical tool for making sure you are on track, it has to be as convincing and as detailed as it possibly can.

The Key Sections of A Restaurant Business Plan

Executive Summary

The first section you almost need to include in a restaurant business plan is an executive summary. This is where you provide a rough summary of the entire business plan, the restaurant, its target market and likely competition within the area. It should be concise with detail packed into each of its short sections to attract interest

Detailed Description

You also need to be able to provide an informative description about the business itself. Write about details like address, contact details and also its legal formation (partnership, sole proprietor etc.) and also list your short and long-term goals for easy research and understanding for the reader.

Company Make-up

You need to also clearly detail who is part of the business itself. Is it going to be just you? Who is employed and in what position? What will the salary bill be? Include all salary and training costs alongside benefit and bonus schemes. Also, include costs for all appliances and equipment needed right down to the development of the restaurant to the equipment needed for cooking. Show inventory control methodology, too; this part must be as clear as possible.

From showing your competition to using analysis to show why your business will be a success in its target area, you have a great opportunity to take things further. From advertisement to licensing, through to the product lines you will be selling, you need to be as clear and as open as you possibly can about the sections in your restaurant business plan.

Financial Projection

Lastly, you need to provide key financial projections for the short and medium-term, as well as some kind of analysis that shows how you came to this conclusion in the first place. While it will take a lot of work to help get the information that you need, it’s a very important part of building a successful business plan for restaurant usage.

If you find it hard to get the right kind of planning and writing down, then you should look to our team here at Business Plan Writers UK . We are experts in small restaurant and fast food business plan writing, and can use the information and analysis we do together to help create a clear plan of action to help take your needs further and create a business plan that works.

To find out how we can help with your business plan either call us on  020 8242 1577  or complete the contact form and one of our consultants will get straight back to you.

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11 Things You Need In Your Restaurant Business Plan

• by Lightspeed

minute read

Nearly half of restaurants fail within the first four years, but yours doesn’t have to.

If you have a solid game plan for your restaurant before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship, you can minimize the risk of failure, stand out from the competition and claim a nice slice of the industry’s aggregated revenue.

But before you leave your mark on the industry, you need a restaurant business plan to get financial backing from investors . Build a solid business plan that clearly outlines every element of your soon-to-be establishment. Your goal is to show potential investors that you’re for real, professional, and are as invested in your restaurant’s success as you want them to be.

Don’t know where to get started on your restaurant business plan? That’s okay. We’ve outlined the eleven sections your plan should ideally cover. 

• Solidify your restaurant concept
• Define your restaurant’s target market
• Define your service type
• Decide on the perfect location
• Describe your restaurant’s design
• Layout your restaurant’s branding
• Include a sample menu
• Conduct market research
• Create a restaurant marketing plan
•   Define your management team
• Create a projected budget and financial statement

Start your business plan today

Download our restaurant business plan template, and start igniting your potential

1. Solidify your restaurant concept

Provide a strong overview of your restaurant concept. That includes what type of food you’ll be serving, the service type and style, as well as any other design details that strengthen your overall restaurant concept.

2. Define your restaurant’s target market

Clearly outline your primary target market. How old are they? What are their interests (asides from food)? What’s their average income? Is there a specific area of the city where a high concentration of them live?

3. Define your service type

If you envision your establishment having a specific service style, you need to clearly communicate that to potential investors. Will it be fast-casual, fine dining, quick-service, self-service? All of these service types have a unique model and imply a far different customer experience. For instance, a quick-service restaurant’s priority is serving high volumes of customers, whereas a fine dining restaurant focuses on  boosting the table spend of a smaller volume of customers.

4. Decide on the perfect location

There should be a very clear connection between your establishment’s concept, target market, and location. While you might not have pinpointed the perfect location just yet, try to pinpoint the neighborhoods and streets that are the most popular with your target market, while also having a solid volume of local residents and foot traffic.

Don’t assume that your potential investors are aware of the neighbourhood, either. Clearly outline why the neighbourhood is interesting. How many people live there? How many of those people fit into your target market? How expensive is a typical lease? Investors will appreciate that you took the time to cover these details.

5. Describe your restaurant’s design

A restaurant’s interior design plays a big part in whether it becomes a hotspot for your target market. Consider building a mood board that showcases the aesthetic you want. Whether it’s white brick walls, gold accents, or plants you want to feature, try to paint a concise picture of what your restaurant will look like, and qualify why that will attract your target market. Not so surprisingly, fun washrooms are also a great way to attract customers.

6. Layout your restaurant’s branding

Even if your logo isn’t set in stone, include it. If you have a certain aesthetic you want to maintain on your social media, or certain colours you want to avoid at all cost, or a tagline and messaging you really like, write it all down.

7. Include a sample menu

Your menu is arguably the most important part of your restaurant. Be sure to include a mockup of your menu (logo included). Each menu item should have an estimated cost based on a detailed cost analysis.

Typically, your food cost should be between 30% – 35%. The price you pay for ingredients influences how much you charge customers for that dish.

Once you have the estimated cost and price of each menu item, it enables you to determine your estimated average check value and create financial projections.

Ultimately, your menu is the key to your restaurant’s success . You want to make it as profitable as possible, while still fitting into your restaurant’s theme and target customers.

8. Conduct market research

This is where you demonstrate a clear analysis of the market both on a macro and micro level. If the restaurant market isn’t doing well, demonstrate that you understand why, and how your restaurant will overcome those challenges.

Also, be sure to address who your direct competitors are. Who shares the same target market as you? What are you going to do to effectively differentiate your establishment from theirs?

9. Create a restaurant marketing plan

Opening a restaurant is always a risk. You want to show investors that you have a pre-opening marketing strategy that effectively generates interest in your establishment and a post-opening marketing strategy that helps retain interest and continue to generate awareness.

Your marketing scope should include a social media plan , website and perhaps even local ads.

Download our ultimate restaurant marketing guide

Learn how to drive your restaurant forward with powerful and effective marketing tactics.

10. Define your management team

Write a brief overview of yourself and your business partners. Highlight your credentials and past experiences — your goal is to show that the team you have in place has the chops to run an establishment and establish trust with potential investors.

11. Create a projected budget and financial statement

If you haven’t hired an accountant , you should. Have an accountant with a wealth of experience in the industry guide you through this part of your restaurant business plan.

Prior to making any projections, your accountant will want to know the approximate amount of seats you plan on having, what you anticipate your average check value to be, and how many services you plan on having per day. Conservative estimations are always best.

An accredited and experienced accountant will know the most important projections to include in your business plan. Typically, investors want to see a break-even analysis , a capital requirements budget , and a pro forma profit and loss statement that covers your first three to five years of operation.

Restaurant business plan samples

Have a look through these restaurant business plan samples and see which style most aligns with your type of restaurant.

Once you find a sample or two that you like, start to craft yours using a similar structure, layout, and language. Before you know it, you’ll have your very own restaurant business plan ready to go.

Example of a fast food restaurant business plan 

While the premise of a fast-food restaurant might seem obvious, even fast food restaurant owners need a business plan to justify their ideas. MoreBusiness.com is an excellent resource for examples of fast food restaurant business plans, covering everything from products and services to facilities and locations and more.

Example of a breakfast restaurant business plan

Since the University of Nevada, Las Vegas published SunShine Cafe: A Breakfast Restaurant Business Plan in 2011, it has been an integral resource for those looking to craft a breakfast restaurant business plan of their very own. Not only does the paper detail the workings of a restaurant business plan, it also offers compelling evidence about why they’re so important in the first place.

“As many as 800,000 new businesses are started in the United States every year,” the paper explains, “and it is estimated that 50% of those fail with some estimating that 90% of restaurants fail. Some of the main reasons that businesses fail are poor planning and lack of start-up capital. Research has shown that business plans can help reduce this risk by both doing the planning and helping a small business gain capital.” Adding something like this into your own restaurant business plan will show investors that you are serious about running a successful and profitable business and plan to learn from others’ mistakes.

There you have it, a solid base to create your restaurant’s business plan. Try to provide as much detail as you can. You only get one chance to prove to an investor that your idea is worth investing in. Show that you’re invested, have done your homework and are capable of successfully operating an establishment.

Streamline operations for your future business

With Lightspeed’s restaurant POS and management system , you can offer tableside ordering, start a loyalty program and view reports to see what’s working. Chat with one of our restaurant experts to see how technology can help you streamline your operations and make more informed decisions.

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How to Open a Restaurant in London

Opening a restaurant in London can be challenging, even if you’re a celebrity chef or already have a successful first location. From finding your market niche to raising money and choosing the right spot, it won’t be easy.

That isn’t meant to put you off – just help you realise that being successful will require total commitment and lots of hard work. With thorough preparation, you can increase your chances of succeeding! Time spent properly preparing will be beneficial in the long run and save you money.

In this guide, we’ve broken down the preparation process into three key stages. Within each, we take you through the various actions you need to complete before moving on to the next.

Business Plan

At some point in your journey towards having your own restaurant, you’re going to need help. That may be from business partners, investors, lenders or consultants. The one thing they have in common is that they’ll all want to see your business plan . 

Your business plan will include the following:

• An overview and description of your business.
• Analysis of the marketplace you will be competing in.
• How you intend to market your restaurant.
• The level of funding you will need to start your business.
• Your estimated turnover and profit for at least the first five years. 
• Details of how the business will operate.

It might seem daunting at first, but without it, you won’t get very far. Remember, each step towards completing your business plan brings you closer to opening day. Let’s break it down and look at the things you will need to include in more detail:

At some point, you wondered to yourself what it would be like to run your own restaurant. For many people, that’s as far as it gets, but you’ve decided to take it further. Now it’s time to get serious and find out how to open a restaurant.

Every great venture starts with an idea. Explain what your restaurant will be like. What will it look like, what style of food will it serve, what will make it unique or different? Why should customers visit you and what will their experience be like? You want to explain with as much detail as you can, so people reading the business plan understand can clearly envision your idea.

The answers to these questions will help create your mission statement. A mission statement will help you to define what your goals are and act as a statement of your restaurant’s purpose. It will show stakeholders that you have a clear direction for your business and customers what to expect if they visit your restaurant. It can also act as a point of focus in making decisions and a benchmark by which to assess your progress.

You probably have ideas about the mood you want to create in your restaurant so add them to the plan. This could include lighting, décor, music, how the staff dress, how you greet your customers, anything that contributes to the ambience.

Think carefully about what you are aiming to achieve in the short and long-term – the journey doesn’t end when you open the doors for the first time. A restaurant has to evolve and adapt to changing market conditions. Think about where you want to be in one year, five years, 10 years and explain your strategy for achieving those goals. You might want your restaurant to be a chain that grows over time, or you might prefer to stick with one restaurant. Either way, you have to plan ahead.

All businesses are set up differently. You may want to run yours as a sole trader or perhaps you intend to have one or more partners. Given the potential risks involved if the business fails, you might prefer to operate as a limited company. In which case, who will the directors be? Will you own the shares in the company or are you offering a shareholding in return for investment? This should all be included in your plan.

Your plan must include realistic and up-to-date information on the current state of the market. From there, you can explain how you’ll position yourself in that market.  How you use this information is absolutely vital to the success of your business. A lot of research will be needed, and it will take some time but skimping on it will come back to bite you later. The key questions for you to ask are:

• Who are my target customers?
• Who are my competitors?
• What is the current state of the market?
• What are the trends in the market?

You might decide that you don’t have the skills or time to do this properly and prefer to employ a market research company. If you do, you must ensure that they are properly briefed so that the research they do is correctly targeted. If you’re doing it yourself, here’s what you need to cover:

Proper customer research involves getting out and talking to people. You need to establish what the needs of your target market are and how you can meet those needs.

Competition

Look at the area you plan to operate in and list all of the restaurants that are already there. From there, you’ll want to break down the different restaurants into direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors are offering something very similar to you whereas indirect competitors provide something different, but which can still be seen as competition. For example, two Indian restaurants in the same street are direct competitors, but a fish and chip shop and a kebab shop are indirect competitors because they both cater to the same target market. 

Current Market

This is very much an intelligence-gathering exercise. Visit restaurants you’ll be competing with and see what they offer in terms of customer experience, quality, and range of food, and value. See how busy they are at various times on different days of the week. Speak to as people who live in the area and ask what they think of the existing restaurants. See if they think there’s a demand for something new. Try to find out if anyone else is proposing to open a new restaurant locally. You don’t want to get caught out by unexpected competition.

Having identified your competitors, spend some time analysing their strengths and weaknesses. Look at your own strengths and see if you can offer something they can’t. If you have weaknesses in certain areas, consider how you might address them. Maybe you need more training or some expert advice. Perhaps you need to change your concept to play more to your strengths.

Market Trends

This covers more than just your local area. Markets can reflect regional, national or even international trends. They may be influenced by social and economic factors or even fashion. Try to determine which trends are likely to be long-term and which are expected to come and go quite quickly. Once you have analysed the existing market, you need to determine what gaps there are and what you can offer that is different or better than the competition. Be honest with yourself about what shortcomings you have and where you might struggle to compete. 

Finding the ideal location for opening a restaurant is never easy – finding it in London is harder still.  Prime locations are extremely expensive and hard to come by, especially if you’re thinking of setting up in central London. You need to be realistic about what you can afford and where your best chances of success are likely to be. For each location you have in mind, ask these questions: 

Will your concept work in this area?

Research the current restaurant scene and see what is doing well and what Isn’t. If there are already other restaurants with a similar concept to yours, is there room for another in the area? What prices are people paying for their meals? Opening a budget restaurant in an affluent area might not work any better than a fine dining establishment would in a deprived area.

What is the typical demographic of people living in the area?

You must be sure that enough people will want to eat in your restaurant. Income, age, ethnicity, education, religion, and employment will all have an effect on your target audience. For example, young professionals and retired couples may eat out more often than families, but not necessarily at the same time of day. 

Does the local population meet your minimum target figure?

You will need to calculate the minimum number of target market consumers required in a given radius of your restaurant. Check that the area you are looking at meets those figures. In some parts of London, you will need to focus as much, if not more, on tourists or commuters rather than the resident population. Tourists are often more disposed to spend money on food than anyone else so finding a location near a tourist hot-spot can be a good move. There are also large numbers of people that commute into London everyday – you  may want to concentrate almost exclusively on them. 

Having decided on the area you want to be in, you need to start looking at what premises are available. The chances of finding the perfect building are slim. You will likely have to compromise and find somewhere that you can make work. There will, however, be certain criteria that are essential, and you should make a list of these to check off against each potential site. This might include:

• Space – Is the premises big enough to cope with your required turnover? You need room for sufficient tables and a kitchen big enough to service them.
• Accessibility – Can customers, staff and deliveries get to your restaurant easily? Is there parking or public transport nearby, or do enough people live, work or visit the area for you to rely on passing trade? Is there suitable access for people with disabilities to enter your restaurant and, if not, can it be installed?
• Services – Do the current gas, electric and water supplies meet your requirements, or do they need upgrading? Is the sewage system okay?
• HVAC – What will you need and what is there already? Does it need servicing or repairing before you can use it?

Executive Summary

The final thing to do to complete your plan is to write an executive summary and position it at the beginning. The aim of an executive summary is to give a brief overview of the whole business plan. Somebody would be able to read the executive summary and get a basic understanding of your business plan, without combing through every page.

Once you open a restaurant, you’re not just a restaurateur – you’re an entrepreneur, too! No matter how good a chef or charming a host, you’ll be running a business first and – hopefully! – making money. Even if you hire an accountant to do the heavy lifting, you’ll still need to get your head around your business’s finances. 

The old adage that ‘ if you fail to plan, you plan to fail ’ couldn’t be more accurate when it comes to business finance. Unless you’re very lucky, you’re not going to open your doors and start making profits straight away. You need to plan carefully, make realistic predictions of turnover and costs and be meticulous in recording income and expenditure. 

Keeping on top of your finances enables you to spot financial trends early and take action if things aren’t going as well as they should. It allows you to make decisions about the future of your business, based on facts and not assumptions. This starts with accurate forecasts.

A forecast, by its very nature, cannot be 100% accurate. Unfortunately, the success of your business could depend on the accuracy of your forecasts so you need to make them as accurate as you possibly can. Here’s what to focus on within your forecast:

Start-up Costs

This covers everything you need to spend before you open your doors to the public and includes:

• Premises procurement – the cost of purchase or rent up to opening day
• Professional fees – solicitor, accountant, construction project team
• Fit-out – construction work
• Equipment and furniture – from cookers and fridges to tables and cutlery
• Marketing and advertising
• Working capital

Running Costs

Your running costs are your day to day costs. Here are some expenses you’ll want to consider as part of your running costs:

• Premises rental
• Professional fees – solicitor, accountant
• Services – gas, electricity, water
• Suppliers – food, drink, consumables etc.
• Staff – wages, national insurance, training
• Maintenance

Keep in mind that some of these categories will be the same as your start-up costs.

Turnover and Profit

Your turnover is the amount of money you take from customers. Take that figure and subtract your running costs and you’ll have your profit. From your gross profit, you’ll have to pay off your start-up costs.

Every business needs some degree of funding. For restaurants especially, there are a lot of up-front costs and a need for substantial working capital to keep you going until profits start coming in. Most people will need to raise funds before starting their restaurant.

Investors are more likely to be interested in your business if you are investing in your restaurant yourself. That might be from savings, investments or from family and friends keen to help you on your way. 

There are various sources of funding for businesses, but before you approach them, you must be properly prepared. The three things investors and lenders will want to see are your:

• Business plan
• Estimated start-up costs
• Financial forecasts

These will show that you have a thorough understanding of the market and are prepared for all eventualities. They also show – which is arguably more important to potential investors – how much money you will need and when you will be able to pay it back. 

This is where things get exciting. You’ve got everything planned down to the last detail, and your funding is all in place. At last, you can start putting everything together! 

If you haven’t already done so, prepare a programme taking you from the moment you take possession of your premises to the day you open your doors. Be realistic about it and build in a contingency for unexpected delays. Share your programme with anyone who has a key role in making it happen, like your architect, builder and equipment suppliers. As you progress, you can review and revise it.

You spent a lot of time looking for the right location, and now you’re in a position to complete your purchase or, more likely, sign the lease. 

Make sure you are fully aware of what you are taking on. Have a surveyor inspect the building and produce a condition report. If you plan to make alterations to the building, ask the landlord for a copy of the latest asbestos survey and get a structural engineer to advise you. 

Your solicitor should review the lease agreement and make it clear what you are committing to. If there’s anything you are not sure of, now is the time to ask. Be sure about what aspects of building maintenance you are responsible for and make provision for it in your budgeting. 

Make sure you know what the renewal arrangements are. You don’t want to build up a booming business only to have to leave when your lease expires, Nor do you want to find that automatic rent increases are eating into your profits. Check what signage you’re allowed to display as well. 

Once you’re sure you’ve got everything covered, you can sign on the dotted line, pick up the keys and get started.

There are various insurance options available, some of which are optional and others. Below are some that you will absolutely need at your restaurant:

Building and Contents

You need to have this in place from the day you purchase the property or start your lease. If you are renting, check what the landlord’s insurance covers.

Public Liability

You must have this to protect your business against claims from members of the public for personal injury or damage to property. 

Employers Liability

It is a legal requirement to have employers’ liability insurance if you employ anyone, whether they are full-time employees, temporary staff, agency workers or contractors.

In your business plan, you will have identified what work will be required to fit-out your premises and how much you want to spend. If you’re lucky, and the building was used as a restaurant before, you might not need to change very much. If you’re converting a building to a restaurant, you will have a lot of work to do, particularly regarding the kitchen and welfare facilities.

Project Team

If you’re planning anything other than a basic refurbishment, you will need professional help. These are some of the people you may need and what they can do for you:

• Architect – take your concept and come up with a design, prepare plans for planning permission, working drawings and specifications for construction work, liaise with contractors
• Interior Designer – develop the look of your restaurant and help source materials and furniture
• Structural Engineer – advise on any structural alterations to the building
• Quantity Surveyor – prepare tender documents including pricing schedule to send out to tender, assess progress to determine stage payments
• Health and Safety Consultant – advise on legal requirements in relation to fire safety, workplace health and safety, and more. 

Some professionals combine one or more of these roles, or you might find a single practice that covers some or all of them.

You might have a good relationship with a builder you know you can trust. Otherwise, you’ll need to find companies to outsource this work to. The tender list should include at least three contractors who have experience in restaurant fit-outs and can show you examples of their work. Try to get some feedback from their previous clients.

Examine and discuss the submitted tenders with your team. Remember – going with the cheapest option isn’t always the best option. More critical is a fixed price and a commitment to your programme. 

Before you get too far into designing the layout of the restaurant, you need to consider what equipment you will need and where it will go. That includes large items like fridges, freezers, cookers and sinks; appliances like food processors, coffee machines and toasters; and the small items like pots and pans, knives and all the tools and accessories necessary for a restaurant kitchen. Then there’s the crockery, cutlery, glassware, tablecloths… the list can seem to go on and on!

Get together with your chef and look at all of the possible scenarios you might face, especially at the busiest times. Make a list of what your minimum requirements are and a separate list of items that you would like to have but might not be able to afford straight away. The second list is important because, if you don’t allow space for these items now, you won’t have anywhere to put them when you need them.

Every restaurateur would love to have a kitchen full of shiny new equipment but in reality, the costs might be prohibitive. There’s plenty of second-hand equipment available, and this could be a good route to go down to help you stick to your budget. You do have to take some precautions before purchasing second-hand equipment. Before committing to any purchases, find out the history of the item and see if it is still under warranty. 

Realistically, you’ll probably want to buy a mixture of new and used equipment. Some used items are a safer bet than others. Fridges and freezers are best purchased new because they are expensive to repair. Used gas cookers are better than electric for the same reason.

An alternative option is to lease your equipment. There are various types of leases, some of which allow you to buy the equipment when the lease ends. Some have early termination fees which can be costly if you want to upgrade during the lease period. It pays to look into any leasing arrangement carefully before committing. 

There are restaurant equipment financing loans available. These can enable you to start out with better equipment and free up cash for other areas of the business.

Electronic point of sale ( EPOS ) systems are rapidly taking over from the old cash register system. They are computerised systems that process customer transactions, monitor sales and track inventory. Some communicate between front and back of the house, control inventories and manage staff scheduling. Others offer financial reporting and analysis. Many are moving away from fixed terminals and using tablets instead.

The market is continually changing, so you need to think about what you actually need rather than whether you fancy the latest tech. The more sophisticated systems are expensive, and there’s a licence fee and maintenance costs to consider too. You might think it worth the cost for the ability to generate reports quickly. Being able to make informed decisions based on accurate data could save you money.

It can be difficult knowing what the right system for your restaurant is. Here are some things to consider:

• Think about your staff and finding a system that is easy for them to use.
• Look for a system that allows customisation to your needs and the possibility of expanding or upgrading in the future. 
• Make sure your data will be adequately protected.
• Check the level of training and support offered by your supplier.

If you know other restaurateurs, ask around and see what information you can find. Invite several companies to pitch for your business and look for the best fit rather than the best price.

As if opening a restaurant wasn’t hard enough, there are a lot of licences and permissions you’ll need before you can get up and running. In London, most of these will be granted by your local authority of which there are 33 covering the whole capital. The legislation may be the same, but each one will have their own way of doing things. It’s a good idea to get in touch with the relevant people as soon as you can so you know what is required. The following are some of the things you may need permissions for:

• Building regulations
• Food Hygiene 
• Premises licence
• Music licence
• Pavement licence
• Gaming machines

Planning permission covers the use of the building and alterations you make to it. Most restaurants are classified as either class A3 or A4. If the building you propose to use doesn’t have the correct classification, you will have to apply for a change of use. It’s best to discuss this with the planning department before going too far, in case there are objections.

Alterations to the building may or may not require planning permission. Again, you should discuss your ideas with the planners as soon as possible. This is also where building regulations come in. Their purpose is to ensure that building design, construction and alterations are carried out to approved standards. You will need building regulations approval for the work you do, and you can only get this from a Building Control Body (BCB). Local authorities have their own BCBs, or you can use an approved private BCB.

To operate any food-related business, you must be registered w ith the local authority . An inspector will carry out regular inspections and give you a rating under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. You’ll be given a rating from 0-5 and advised if and what you need to do to improve. The ratings are:

5 – hygiene standards are very good

4 – hygiene standards are good

3 – hygiene standards are generally satisfactory

2 – some improvement is necessary

1 – major improvement is necessary

0 – urgent improvement is required  

Premises Licence

A premises licence will be needed if you plan to offer any ‘licensable activities’ in your restaurant. These include:

• Sale of alcohol
• Live music performances
• Indoor sports events
• Film or theatre performances
• Selling hot food or drink between 11 pm and 5 am

To apply for a premises licence, you or one of your staff must be a ‘Designated Premises Supervisor’ (DPS). To sell alcohol, the DPS must have a ‘Personal Licence to Sell Alcohol’. You can’t hold a licence unless you, or a staff member, have a licensing qualification, such as The Award for Personal Licence Holders (APLH) Level 2.

Music Licence

If you think some ambient music would add to the atmosphere in your restaurant, be sure to get a music licence first. This license is called TheMusicLicence and is issued on behalf of PPL and PRS for Music, the two bodies protecting the rights of everyone in the music business.

Pavement Licence

In the right location, putting chairs and tables on the pavement in front of your restaurant can be an excellent way to increase capacity. To do so, you’ll have to apply for a pavement licence from your local authority.

Gaming Machines

If you want to have gaming machines on your premises, you will have to register for Machine Games Duty (MGD) with HM Revenue and Customs.

You’ve probably had an idea of what will be on your menu ever since you started thinking about your restaurant. Now is the time to narrow those ideas down and focus on precisely what’s going to be on it . If your restaurant is dedicated to a particular cuisine – like Chinese, Mexican, vegan, or burgers– you’re halfway there already. If not, you’ll need to come up with a menu that is balanced and offers a variety of food with dishes that complement one another.

It’s important to give customers what they want. You either have to find a location where there’s a demand for your style of food or tailor your menu to suit local tastes. Your menu needs to fit with the concept laid out in your business plan. If you’ve set out a particular price range and profit margin for your menu items, the cost of ingredients will have to reflect this.

You also need to bear in mind how easy or difficult each dish is to prepare. If you have too many complicated dishes, you’ll need more staff to prepare them. You’ll also want to consider the ingredients needed for your dishes. The wider range of ingredients you use across your menu, the more stock you’ll have to keep. If you serve a lot of food with a short shelf-life, you’ll need to be careful that you don’t end up throwing too much away.

Trying out your dishes on a select group of tasters – whether family, friends or employees – is an important part of the process. Choose people you know will give an honest opinion. If recipes need adjusting, carry out more rounds of testing until you’re happy you’ve got it right. Remember that not everyone has the same tastes and you won’t make each dish perfect for everyone.

Deciding where to source your food supplies can be difficult. Do you go with a national wholesaler who can supply everything in one order, or do you use local specialist suppliers? This partly depends on what type of restaurant you are running, how you want to market yourself, and what your core values are. You might, for example, specialise in organic food, local produce or a particular style of cooking that requires ingredients that are specially imported.

The more suppliers you have, the more time you’ll spend dealing with them. On the other hand, building relationships with small-scale specialists can be rewarding both in terms of quality of food and service. A lot of people take an interest in where their food comes from and how it is produced so you could use it as a selling point.

You might have the perfect premises serving fabulous food at great prices but, if no one comes through your door, it’ll count for nothing. Getting customers is key to success, and is where marketing comes in.

Your marketing plan should be just as carefully thought out as any other part of your business plan. There needs to be a clear strategy aimed at reaching your target market. It’s easy to waste money on marketing if it isn’t correctly targeted or effective. It’s also tempting to think that the money could be better spent on nicer furniture, fancy menus or posh décor. Avoid falling into either trap by setting a realistic budget specific to marketing and make it work for you most productively.

There are many ways you can promote your business, and you’ll need to find the combination that works best for you. Here are some ideas:

Street Promotion

If your restaurant is in a busy London location, you can get out in the street and interact with people. Hand out leaflets, vouchers or, better still, have samples of food for them to try. You can do this in a week or two before you open.

In this day and age, you have to have a website. It doesn’t have to cost a lot and customers will expect one. They want to see when you’re open and what your menu looks like before coming in. They’ll also draw conclusions about what your restaurant is like by how the website looks, so it’s essential that your website is a reflection of your business.

Just having a website is not enough. People need to be able to find it when they’re looking for somewhere to eat. Search engine optimisation (SEO) helps to ensure that your business shows up in searches. It can be complicated, but you won’t get many visitors to your site if you don’t do it. It’s worth getting professional assistance to optimise your website.  

Social Media

This is another must-have. Few restaurants these days don’t have a Facebook page. Many businesses also use other platforms, like Twitter and Instagram. These are great ways to interact with your customers and to notify them of events and special offers.

Order and Delivery Apps

If you offer a takeaway service, you should consider joining sites like JustEat and UberEATS. The number of people ordering food online for delivery or collection is increasing, so not  being onboard could cost you sales. The apps display your menu, take orders and process payments.

Review Sites

Sites such as TripAdvisor are popular with people looking for somewhere to dine, so it’s worth having a presence on at least one of them. The cost of using these sites varies, so  you’ll have to do your homework as to which one is right for your restaurant. 

Email/Text Messaging

It can take a while to build up your customer database for email and text messaging marketing, but it is worth it. It’s a great way to keep in touch with existing customers or people who have expressed an interest in you.

Direct Mail/Leafletting 

This is basically a way of blitzing an area based on proximity to your restaurant. With direct mail, you pay the Royal Mail to deliver your advertising material to every property in a given area.

Leafletting is similar, but you pay a private company to deliver leaflets for you. They often get delivered together with other leaflets and can get lost in a bundle of junk mail. If you have the time, you can deliver them yourself. Direct mail and leaflets are a great opportunity to include promotions, such as discount vouchers, as an incentive to get people to give you a try.

The Grand Opening

This is it – the big event, the launch of your restaurant and, hopefully, the beginning of something big! Preparation is crucial. If it goes well, you’ll be off to a flying start. Your guest list will comprise anyone who has influence in your local area, including media, celebrities, politicians and business people. Work hard to get as many of them to attend as possible and fill any gaps with friends. 

If time and budget allow, it’s a good idea to have a ‘soft’ opening a week or so before the grand opening. This is an invitation-only event designed to ensure that all of your systems and equipment operate properly in a live situation. Ask your ‘customers’ to give feedback on all aspects of their experience and use it to tweak things ahead of the big day.

Recruiting and retaining staff is one of the biggest problems for restaurateurs. Ideally, you want people who share your vision and commitment to the future of the restaurant. In the real world, that isn’t always going to happen. Most catering jobs are low-paid, meaning staff turnover is high. Waiting staff in particular often see their work as short-term, filling in the gaps between other employment or allowing them to save for trips abroad. 

Your staff can be divided into the front of house and back of the house. How many staff you need for each area depends on several factors, including the type of restaurant you are running, the number of tables you have and your opening hours.

Front of House

Your front of house staff will be dealing with people all the time. They will influence your customers’ experience and perception of your restaurant. They need to be confident, friendly, and able to deal with any situation thrown at them. They also must be happy working as part of a team. 

In charge of the team, you need a restaurant manager who can manage them effectively, keep everything running smoothly and deal with any crisis quickly and effectively. The manager needs to be experienced, especially if the rest of the team are not.

Back of House

The key person in the kitchen is the head chef. If that’s not you, you’ll be looking for someone who can realise your vision. He or she will also need to be able to manage the kitchen staff effectively. Once the head chef is appointed, you can work with them in recruiting the rest of the kitchen staff.

There are various ways to resource staff, and you’ll probably need to use several. If you have contacts in the trade, try to get referrals for key personnel, or use a head-hunter if you’re looking for someone with particular experience. Job sites, such as Totaljobs and Indeed, can be good at reaching people looking for new positions. For lower level staff, use local recruitment agencies, advertise locally or post vacancies on your website and social media accounts.

If you had any doubts about how much work is involved in opening a restaurant, you won’t now. It’s a huge commitment in time, energy and money and is not something to be taken on lightly. Having said that, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t succeed with the right team be able to make a success of it. 

Few people will be able to do it all on their own though. You’d need to be a mix of entrepreneur, project manager, designer, accountant, marketer and more. If you’re planning on going into partnership, find people whose skills complement yours and divide the work between you. If you are going it alone, look for advice wherever you can get it and employ professionals to cover the areas you’re weak on.

It will be a long journey, and it won’t always be easy, but when the first customer walks through your door, it will all be worth it.

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan

Restaurant Business Plan Template & PDF Example

• July 23, 2024
• Business Plan

Creating a comprehensive business plan is crucial for launching and running a successful restaurant. This plan serves as your roadmap, detailing your vision, operational strategies, and financial plan. It helps establish your restaurant’s identity, navigate the competitive market, and secure funding for growth.

This article not only breaks down the critical components of a restaurant business plan, but also provides an example of a business plan to help you craft your own.

Whether you’re an experienced entrepreneur or new to the food and beverage industry, this guide, complete with a business plan example, lays the groundwork for turning your restaurant concept into reality. Let’s dive in!

Our restaurant business plan is structured to cover all essential aspects needed for a comprehensive strategy. It outlines the restaurant’s operations, marketing strategy, market environment, competitors, management team, and financial forecasts.

• Executive Summary : Offers an overview of the restaurant’s business concept, market analysis , management, and financial strategy.
• Restaurant & Location: Describes the restaurant’s prime location, size, seating capacity, and distinctive design, emphasizing its appeal to the target demographic.
• Supply & Operations: Outlines the supply chain management, focusing on local sourcing and quality ingredients, and details the operational aspects, including kitchen layout, equipment, and front-of-house operations.
• Key Stats: Shares industry size , growth trends, and relevant statistics for the full-service restaurant market.
• Key Trends: Highlights recent trends affecting the restaurant sector, such as health-conscious dining, sustainability, and technology integration.
• Key Competitors: Analyzes the main competitors in the vicinity, showcasing the restaurant’s unique selling proposition in comparison.
• SWOT : Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis.
• Marketing Plan : Strategies for promoting the restaurant to maximize visibility and customer engagement.
• Timeline : Key milestones and objectives from the initial setup through the launch and operational optimization.
• Management: Information on who manages the restaurant and their roles.
• Financial Plan: Projects the restaurant’s financial performance, including revenue, profits, and expected expenses, aiming for profitability and sustainable growth.

Restaurant Business Plan

Fully editable 30+ slides Powerpoint presentation business plan template.

Download an expert-built 30+ slides Powerpoint business plan template

Executive Summary

The Executive Summary introduces your restaurant’s business plan, offering a concise overview of your establishment and its offerings. It should detail your market positioning, the variety of cuisines and dining experiences you offer, its location, size, and an outline of day-to-day operations. 

This section should also explore how your restaurant will integrate into the local market, including the number of direct competitors within the area, identifying who they are, along with your restaurant’s unique selling points that differentiate it from these competitors. 

Furthermore, you should include information about the management and co-founding team, detailing their roles and contributions to the restaurant’s success. Additionally, a summary of your financial projections, including revenue and profits over the next five years, should be presented here to provide a clear picture of your restaurant’s financial plan.

Restaurant Business Plan Executive Summary Example

Business Overview

The  business overview  should detail the restaurant’s specific features, such as its seating capacity, ambiance, and supply chain practices. It’s important to emphasize how the restaurant caters to its target demographic through its strategic location and operational model.

Example: “[Your Restaurant Name],” located in [specific area or neighborhood], covers [total square footage] sq ft and includes a main dining area, bar, and outdoor patio, offering a total of [number of seats] seats. The restaurant’s commitment to quality is reflected in its locally sourced produce and sustainable supply chain practices, catering to a diverse clientele.

Market Overview

This section involves analyzing the size, growth, and trends of the full-service restaurant market. It should address the industry’s digital transformation, health-conscious dining preferences, and eco-friendly practices, positioning the restaurant within the broader market context.

Example: “[Your Restaurant Name]” enters a U.S. full-service restaurant market valued at $293 billion. The restaurant’s focus on technology, healthier menu options, and sustainability aligns well with current  market trends  and consumer preferences, setting it apart from six main competitors in the area.

Management Team

Detailing the management team’s background and expertise is crucial. This section should highlight how their experience in culinary arts and restaurant management contributes to the success of the restaurant.

Example: The Executive Chef and Co-Owner of “[Your Restaurant Name]” leads menu development and kitchen operations, ensuring high-quality food preparation and presentation. The General Manager and Co-Owner manages daily operations, staff, customer service, and financial aspects, ensuring a seamless dining experience.

Financial Plan

This section should outline the restaurant’s financial goals and projections, including revenue targets and profit margins, providing a clear picture of its financial aspirations and health.

Example: “[Your Restaurant Name]” aims to achieve $2.7 million in annual revenue with an 11%  EBITDA  margin by 2028. This financial goal is supported by a focus on quality dining experiences, strategic marketing, and operational efficiency, positioning the restaurant for growth in the  competitive  full-service restaurant market.

For a Restaurant, the Business Overview section can be concisely divided into 2 main slides:

Restaurant & Location

Briefly describe the restaurant’s physical environment, emphasizing its design, ambiance, and the overall dining experience it offers to guests. Mention the restaurant’s location, highlighting its accessibility and the convenience it offers to diners, such as proximity to entertainment venues or ease of parking. Explain why this location is advantageous in attracting your target clientele.

Supply & Operations

Detail the range of cuisines and dishes offered, from appetizers and main courses to desserts and specialty beverages. Outline your sourcing strategy, ensuring it reflects a commitment to quality and sustainability, and matches the market you’re targeting.

Highlight any unique culinary techniques, exclusive ingredients, or innovative kitchen technologies that set your restaurant apart. Discuss your operational strategies, including inventory management, supplier relationships, and kitchen workflow, to ensure efficiency and consistency in delivering exceptional dining experiences.

Industry size & growth

In the Market Overview of your restaurant business plan, start by examining the size of the restaurant industry and its growth potential. This analysis is crucial for understanding the market’s scope and identifying expansion opportunities.

Key market trends

Proceed to discuss recent market trends , such as the increasing consumer interest in farm-to-table dining, ethnic cuisines, and experiential dining experiences.

For example, highlight the demand for restaurants that offer unique cultural dishes, the growing popularity of health-conscious and dietary-specific menus, and the integration of technology in enhancing the dining experience.

Competitive Landscape

A  competitive analysis  is not just a tool for gauging the position of your restaurant in the market and its key competitors; it’s also a fundamental component of your business plan.

This analysis helps in identifying your restaurant’s unique selling points, essential for differentiating your business in a  competitive  market.

In addition, competitive analysis is integral in laying a solid foundation for your business plan. By examining various operational aspects of your competitors, you gain valuable information that ensures your business plan is robust, informed, and tailored to succeed in the current market environment.

Identifying Competitors in the Restaurant Industry

To comprehensively understand the competitive landscape, start by identifying both direct and indirect competitors in your area. Direct competitors are restaurants offering similar cuisines or targeting a comparable customer base. For instance, if your restaurant specializes in authentic Mexican cuisine, other nearby Mexican restaurants are direct competitors. Indirect competitors may include food trucks, cafes, or even fast-casual eateries offering diverse menus that overlap with your offerings.

Leverage digital tools like Google Maps, Yelp, or food delivery apps to map out the locations of your competitors. Reviews and ratings on platforms like TripAdvisor and social media can offer valuable insights into competitors’  strengths and weaknesses . Positive reviews highlighting exceptional service or a unique dining experience at a competitor’s restaurant can signify an area of focus for differentiation and improvement.

Restaurant Competitors’ Strategies

To conduct a comprehensive analysis, delve into various aspects of your competitors’ operations:

• Menu Offerings:  Assess the breadth and uniqueness of dishes offered by competitors. Take note if any local restaurants are gaining traction by focusing on farm-to-table ingredients, regional specialties, or offering innovative fusion cuisines, as these aspects often indicate emerging  market trends .
• Service and Ambiance:  Evaluate the overall customer experience. Identify if there’s a competitor renowned for its fine dining experience, another known for its trendy and vibrant atmosphere, or one that excels in providing a casual, family-friendly environment. These elements significantly contribute to a restaurant’s success and differentiation.
• Pricing and Positioning:  Compare pricing strategies . Determine whether competitors are positioned as budget-friendly eateries or if they adopt a more upscale approach with premium pricing, highlighting gourmet ingredients, or exclusive dining experiences.
• Marketing Channels :  Analyze how competitors market their restaurants. Do they leverage social media platforms for promotions, engage in collaborations with local influencers, or host special events or themed nights? Understanding their marketing tactics provides insights into effective promotional strategies that resonate with the  target audience .
• Operational Efficiency:  Observe if competitors have adopted technological advancements such as online reservations, mobile apps for ordering, or contactless payment systems. These innovations not only streamline operations but also contribute to an enhanced customer experience.

What’s Your Restaurant’s Value Proposition?

Reflect on what uniquely distinguishes your restaurant from the competition. It could be your innovative fusion of cuisines, a strong emphasis on locally sourced and sustainable ingredients, or perhaps a distinctive ambiance that reflects a particular cultural theme or historical narrative.

Listen attentively to customer feedback and observe emerging industry trends to identify gaps or unmet demands in the market. For instance, if there’s a growing interest in plant-based dining experiences and competitors have not tapped into this niche, it could present an opportunity for your restaurant to cater to this demand and stand out.

Consider how your restaurant’s location influences your strategy. A downtown location might warrant a focus on quick service and catering to office lunch crowds, while a suburban setting could embrace a more relaxed, family-friendly dining environment.

First, conduct a SWOT analysis for the restaurant , highlighting Strengths (such as a unique menu and exceptional customer service), Weaknesses (including potential high operational costs or strong competition in the area), Opportunities (for example, a growing interest in diverse cuisines and healthy eating), and Threats (such as economic downturns that may decrease consumer spending on dining out).

Marketing Plan

Next, develop a marketing strategy that outlines how to attract and retain customers through targeted advertising, promotional discounts, an engaging social media presence, food blogger outreach, and community involvement, such as local events or charity sponsorships.

Marketing Channels

Utilize various marketing channels to engage with your audience and attract new patrons.

Digital Marketing

• Social Media:  Utilize social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok to showcase your restaurant’s ambiance, signature dishes, behind-the-scenes glimpses, chef profiles, and customer testimonials. Regularly engage with your audience by responding to comments, hosting interactive polls, or sharing user-generated content.
• Email Marketing:  I mplement an email marketing strategy to build a loyal customer base. Offer incentives such as exclusive recipes, promotional offers, or early access to special events in exchange for subscribing to your newsletter. Regularly communicate with your subscribers, sharing updates, promotions, and stories that resonate with your brand.
• Website and SEO:  Maintain an  informative website showcasing your menu , chef profiles, reservation options, and reviews. Optimize it for local SEO to ensure visibility in searches related to your cuisine and location.

Local Advertising

• Printed Materials:  Distribute well-designed flyers in nearby neighborhoods, advertise in local magazines, and collaborate with tourism centers or hotels for exposure.
• Community Engagement:  Sponsor local events, collaborate with food bloggers or influencers, and participate in food festivals or charity events to increase brand visibility and community involvement.
• Partnerships:  Forge partnerships with complementary businesses (such as wine shops or local farmers’ markets) for cross-promotions or collaborative events.

Promotional Activities

Engage potential customers through enticing offers and events.

• Special Offers:  Launch promotions like ‘Chef’s Tasting Menu Nights’ or ‘Happy Hour Discounts’ to attract new diners and retain regulars.
• Loyalty Programs:  Implement a loyalty system offering rewards for frequent visits or referrals, such as a free appetizer or dessert after a certain number of visits.
• Events and Special Occasions:  Host themed nights, seasonal menus, or exclusive culinary events to create buzz and attract diverse audiences.

Sales Channels

Efficiently manage  sales channels  to maximize revenue and customer satisfaction.

In-Restaurant Upselling

• Menu Strategies:  Highlight premium dishes or chef’s specials, offer wine pairings or dessert suggestions, and train staff to upsell without being pushy.
• Merchandising:  Display branded merchandise, specialty sauces, or cookbooks for sale to complement the dining experience.

Online Ordering and Delivery

• Online Ordering Platform: I mplement an easy-to-use online ordering system for takeout or delivery orders. Offer exclusive online discounts or bundle deals.
• Delivery Partnerships:  Collaborate with food delivery services or establish in-house delivery for customers’ convenience.

Reservation Management

• Reservation System:  Utilize an efficient reservation platform to manage bookings. Offer incentives for off-peak reservations or special occasions.

Membership and VIP Programs

Developing membership and VIP programs can cultivate a loyal customer base and drive recurring revenue:

• VIP Memberships:  Create exclusive membership tiers offering perks like priority reservations, chef’s table access, or private event invitations.
• Reward Programs:  Develop a digital loyalty system where customers earn points for every dollar spent, redeemable for discounts, exclusive menu items, or special events.

Strategy Timeline

Finally, create a detailed timeline that outlines critical milestones for the restaurant’s opening, marketing campaigns, customer base growth, and expansion objectives, ensuring the business moves forward with clear direction and purpose.

The management section focuses on the restaurant’s management and their direct roles in daily operations and strategic direction. This part is crucial for understanding who is responsible for making key decisions and driving the restaurant towards its financial and operational goals.

For your restaurant business plan, list the core team members, their specific responsibilities, and how their expertise supports the business.

The Financial Plan section is a comprehensive analysis of your financial projections for revenue, expenses, and profitability. It lays out your restaurant’s approach to securing funding, managing cash flow, and achieving breakeven.

This section typically includes detailed forecasts for the first 5 years of operation, highlighting expected revenue, operating costs and capital expenditures.

For your restaurant business plan, provide a snapshot of your financial statement (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow statement), as well as your key assumptions (e.g. number of customers and prices, expenses, etc.).

Make sure to cover here _ Profit and Loss _ Cash Flow Statement _ Balance Sheet _ Use of Funds

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Opening a restaurant: The key ingredients to start-up success

Independent cafes and restaurants are opening on every corner

In this piece, we discuss the most important steps to making your food business dream a reality.

The way we dine out has been transformed in the last decade with independent cafes and restaurants opening on every corner and food stalls booming throughout multiple UK cities.

As an entrepreneur who is thinking of opening a restaurant, it is important to consider the time, money, legalities and commitment needed to start a food business. However, many of these considerations are often forgotten.

Many food businesses that start as an idea and quickly grow into a brick and mortar venue without sufficient planning can often face hurdles in the future, such as cash flow problems and even liquidation.

It’s frustrating for any business owner to see their hard work dissolve, so by seeking professional advice and investing in time to set up your business properly, you have a better chance of running an effective and profitable restaurant.

Small Business Pro is the ideal tool for you when you’re starting your business. It will help with the heavy lifting of managing customers, taking payments, insurance, finance and HR, plus you’ll get a host of personal wellbeing benefits.

You can find out more about Small Business Pro here .

Here are 11 ingredients for a profitable restaurant start-up, from Bobby Kalar, managing director of Yu Energy .

1. Deciding on a concept

You may have an idea already in mind or you may still be at the drawing board, but choosing what type of restaurant you want to offer, your target audience and its unique selling point are important to think about when creating a restaurant concept.

Dev Biswal, owner of The Cook’s Tale (formerly ‘The Ambrette’) restaurant in Canterbury, explains why it is important to decide on your restaurant’s ‘voice’.

‘The voice of your restaurant, which encompasses its values and aims, will differentiate it from the competition; it’s your USP.

‘It’s essential that entrepreneurs establish their restaurant’s character early in the process and then ensure that this ‘voice’ is present in the dishes, the menus, the marketing and that it is conveyed by the staff.

‘At our restaurant we design our menus with the aim of challenging perceptions and educating diners about the food in front of them.

For example, our recent detox tasting menu showcased the nutritional benefits of spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg and I took the time to explain this to diners in the hope that they leave my restaurant knowing how to boost their well-being using these store cupboard ingredients.’

2. Market research: Competitor analysis

Having an idea for a business is all well and good, but without sufficient research you could be opening a restaurant that your target market has no interest in, there’s no guarantee that you will receive a return on your investment .

Regardless of your chosen industry, it is important for anyone with a business concept to research their competition, customers, funding options and profitability as a business prior to investing hard work and time into an idea that may already be out there or isn’t profitable.

Primary research taken from customers in your region can be far more accurate than sourcing secondary information because while data may be insightful, it might not apply to your unique concept.

For example, a survey taken in Manchester about the number of people who would visit a new gourmet burger restaurant could collect a very different opinions to an identical survey of Birmingham residents. Therefore it is valuable to conduct your own, real research on potentially new customers in your area .

3. Business plan

Business plans are essential for structuring your business model, clarifying direction, attracting financing and team members, as well as being a document that you are able to refer back to during the everyday management of your restaurant.

Many entrepreneurs are often daunted by the thought of creating a business plan to support their idea, however there are plenty of resources out there that are helpful to read when writing a business plan.

What’s more, a business plan doesn’t need to be excessively long; it is acceptable to write just a few pages if it includes everything yourself, your employees and your investors would need to know about your concept, finance and marketplace.

4. Funding a restaurant start-up

Finding the funding to get your food business off the ground can be difficult. In 2012 a study by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that 42 per cent of small businesses that applied for a loan were turned down.

Since then, there has been a rise in successful funding initiatives for startups, including The Prince’s Trust, Funding Circle, and increased government grants for small businesses.

Related: Sources of funding to open a restaurant

Rob Martyniak, co-owner of Meatcure talks about the financial challenges entrepreneurs typically face when opening a restaurant.

‘One of the main challenges you’ll face when opening a restaurant is the financials to fund your business. The financial investment is often why so many great ideas never become a reality.

An entrepreneur is simply someone willing to take the steps to crafting their dreams when others aren’t, or are, intimidated by the financial commitment. However the financial injection you put into your business idea doesn’t need to be excessive.

‘At Meatcure we build, design and create everything in-house ourselves. We have invested time into learning our craft independently, from installing the toilets, building the bar to creating the perfect patty and brioche marriage.’

5. Premises

Finding the perfect premises for your business can be a challenge as it’s dependent on many factors: where you want your restaurant to be, the type of building you want your restaurant to be in, where your customers are mostly likely to be based and how much money you have to purchase or rent.

Choosing a property based on your business concept and ethic is a sensible method of ensuring your restaurant will please your own objectives and your customers’ expectations.

If your brand is passionate about energy saving, you may opt for somewhere with a high EPC rating or is completely powered by renewable energy.

If the purpose of your food business is to offer fast, healthy and easily accessible meals to workers at lunchtime, it would be sensible to find premises in a city centre where your target market is likely to be.

6. Utilities

Utilities were the second cause for rising business costs in 2015, with labour taking first place, in a recent study carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

With running costs, including electricity and gas, being one of the biggest overheads for restaurant start-ups, it’s important to choose the correct supplier for your business.

There are so many utility providers out there that it can be difficult for businesses to understand what they want from their supplier.

The ‘Big Six’ are a popular choice for most due to their existing client base and fairly good introductory offers. However what the ‘Big Six’ stand out in popularity, they often lack in customer service and reliability.

Choosing to opt for an independent utility provider is proving a popular and wise choice for many start-up businesses, who are benefitting from the unrivalled customer service provided by flexible suppliers, often at a considerably lower price than leading electricity and gas giants.

Restaurant owners increasingly say that finding a supplier that offers flexible energy contracts to suit their individual needs is more important to them than sticking with a well-known company because they think it’s easier not to switch.

Apathy is the enemy of any successful business, and this applies to utility bills too. If an owner doesn’t get the deal they deserve from the start then they’re setting themselves up for difficulty later down the line. They need to talk with their feet and take control of their own energy from day one.

7. Equipment installation and maintenance

To run an efficient restaurant business you need equipment that you can depend on. Investing in good-quality apparatus at the start will ensure that maintenance and repairs are kept to a minimum in the long term.

Choosing the most appropriate supplier to service your appliances can often be something that many restaurants forget about. Alex Wrethman, owner of Charlotte’s Group expands on this point.

‘The biggest challenge for someone opening a restaurant has to be building a list of contacts and suppliers that are invaluable to your business. For someone who isn’t already in the restaurant industry, it can be difficult to build a network you can work with and trust.

‘The relationship you have with your suppliers is most important; knowing that you are only a phone call away from a reliable electrician or food supplier is valuable for any restaurant.

‘When choosing suppliers, customer service should be your main deciding factor. Being able to put a name to a face is such an important part of having reputable suppliers for your business. Knowing your restaurant is cared for by your suppliers is something that is priceless to any business.’

8. Regulations and licenses

There are several licenses that you may require to start your restaurant business. These include:

• PRS for Music license: If you, or anyone else, plays music for customers, visitors or staff, you need legal permission from the relevant copyright owners. This license can be obtained from PRS For Music .
• Alcohol license: An on-license must be granted for an establishment to sell alcohol that must be consumed at point of sale. This license can be obtained through your local government website .
• Food hygiene certificate: This certificate proves that you are aware of and operate under the appropriate food hygiene and health and safety regulations.
• Public liability insurance: This protects you if your customers suffer personal injury or property damage because of your business. Public Liability Insurance covers legal expenses or compensation claims and is essential for businesses that interact regularly with customers.
• Building permit: If you intend to construct your premises or add to your existing structures, you will require a construction permit .
• Food premises approval – If your restaurant handles meat, fish, egg or dairy products, you must be inspected and approved by your local council. You can apply for this license through the government website .

Working as a team is an important part of any hospitality business. Restaurants can often spend a third or more of their revenue on staffing, recruitment and training, so it is important to factor in these expenses when thinking about opening a restaurant.

Recruitment can be a difficult part of starting your own business because you are competing against bigger, more reputable brands for the best staff.

However, this problem can be resolved by ensuring your job descriptions are transparent and include that you are a newly-opened restaurant. Applicants are often intrigued by the growth prospect of working for a start-up, so it can beneficial to explain your vision as a small business to your potential staff members.

10. Promotion

Similar to competing for staff, you are also against other restaurants when it comes to promoting your brand. It can be difficult as a new business, without the reputation and authority that your competitors already have, to stand out from the crowd.

It’s important to remember that as a small, startup food business, you’re speaking to an interested audience! In a recent survey carried out ahead of Small Business Saturday, a quarter of people (26 per cent) said they were more likely to shop at local, small businesses than five years ago.

This increasing figure shows that consumers are willing to visit independent businesses, including restaurants: by communicating the passion and ethic of your brand through your marketing materials, you can draw them in your direction.

11. Go digital

Recent years have seen some excellent developments in software and systems designed to optimise the management of hospitality businesses, including some specifically for restaurants (of all types – from fast food establishments to formal dining).

A good EPoS system should help you manage all aspects of your restaurant and the data that is generated give you a useful overview of how your business is performing. Typical elements POS software is designed to help with include: reservations, taking and assigning orders, inventory management (stock levels and usage to reduce wastage), ordering management, staff scheduling and performance, tracking labour costs, taking payments, customer engagement and marketing, kitchen management, and business analytics and reporting.

There are a good number of EPoS suppliers in the market to choose from and as mentioned earlier, some are specialists in the hospitality sector, tailoring their offer by restaurant type.

EPOS Systems for Restaurants

Development is still ongoing, so look for a supplier that is updating its software and hardware configurations on a regular basis. One of the latest advances we have seen is from JeM that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to forecast sales using trend analysis.

See also: Best restaurant booking systems for independent businesses

Once these eleven steps are all this in place, you can concentrate on the part you know best – the food.

List of useful resources on starting a restaurant

• Starting up a restaurant : The considerations
• Menu tips 1 : How to write great menu descriptions
• Menu tips 2 : What to consider when writing a menu
• Kitchen equipment : A ‘Top 20 checklist’ of the essentials for a modern commercial kitchen
• Wholesale food suppliers : Some useful tips on choosing the right suppliers for your type of restaurant
• Restaurant franchises : A selection of UK franchise opportunities. Not all of them are strictly restaurants (does ‘Wendy’s’ really count as a restaurant?) but there are more typical restaurant style businesses available (e.g. Cafe Rouge, Bella Italia etc.)

UK Food & Drink Shows

For those still brave enough to start a new restaurant we recommend you see our article: How to reopen your restaurant, pub or hotel post-lockdown . It contains lots of useful advice that would also pertain to anyone opening a restaurant.

Most importantly, the article lists out the new specific operating guidelines from the UK government, as well as the draft recommendations from trade association UKHospitality .

Ben Lobel was the editor of SmallBusiness.co.uk from 2010 to 2018. He specialises in writing for start-up and scale-up companies in the areas of finance, marketing and HR. More by Ben Lobel

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Restaurant Business Plan

The combined “eating out” market continues to grow with a forecast sales increase of 6.1% per annum. This £16.4 billion industry welcomes thousands of new entrants to the market every year.

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The Executive Summary of This Business Plan

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Summary of the Business

Yinel Limited is a new trading company created for an entirely new dining experience in the local town owned by Mrs Jasmine Harding. Jasmine is an experienced restaurateur, having managed three successful ventures over the past 12 years.

The Restaurant Concept

Yinel will take over existing premises currently used as a restaurant and offer a comprehensive “modern English” menu based upon extensive customer research.

We will rebrand these premises to provide a new range of dining options at affordable prices. The menu includes freshly made pizza, healthy salads, fresh pasta, locally sourced steak, poultry, and fish.

Yinel will be open from 11:00 to 14:30 and 18:00 to 23:00. Brunch, lunch menus and evening fine dining is served during these opening times. An extensive wine cellar will be available, as well as locally brewed beers.

Competition and Market

There are three other competitors locally offering a similar experience; however, these are not directly in the current location.

The current successful business owners are retiring, which presents a unique opportunity to develop the business and profitability. Our target market is a mixture of professionals from local companies, couples and small groups of friends aged between 25 to 75.

Revenue Streams

There are three main revenue streams for this business as follows:

• Food menus include appetizers, starters, main courses, desserts, and a cheese selection.
• Beverage sales include champagne, wines, soft drinks, and beer.
• Private dining area for groups of 10-12 guests.

Financial Forecasts

Total sales for our first year are estimated at £1.8m, increasing by 8-9% for the subsequent two years.

Forecast net profits are 21% before tax and interest.

The premises are available on a 15-year lease with three-year break clauses. Mrs Harding will invest £200,000 into the business with an additional £208,700 investment required as bank financing to fund the rebranding, stock, and initial marketing.

Staffing Requirements

There’ll be six full-time and eight part-time employees to cover all business areas. These responsibilities include purchasing, food preparation, waiting staff, cleaning and administration.

Contents of this plan

1) Executive Summary 2) Business Mission 3) Ownership and Location 4) External Analysis 5) SWOT Analysis 6) Planned Objectives 7) Key Action Plans 8) Management Biographies 9) Profit & Loss Account 10) Cash Flow Forecast 11) Balance Sheet

Free Bonuses Included 1) 25 Free Marketing Techniques 2) Financial Forecasting Wizard 3) Step-by-step Planning Guide 4) Free Online Support 5) Comprehensive Startup Guide

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• Government efficiency, transparency and accountability

Companies House business plan 2024 to 2025

• Companies House

Published 12 August 2024

© Crown copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected] .

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/companies-house-business-plan-2024-to-2025/companies-house-business-plan-2024-to-2025

Chair and chief executive’s foreword

As we begin the fifth and final year of delivering our 2020 to 2025 strategy, we are hugely excited to embark on the first stages of implementing the landmark Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. It is without doubt one of the most significant moments for Companies House in our long history.

We have known for some time that UK companies have been misused by criminals to commit fraud, money laundering, and other forms of economic crime, and our thoughts have always been with those affected. With the legislation in place that has given the registrars new and enhanced powers, we will now be able to take unprecedented steps to crack down on fraudulent activities, help victims of identity fraud more quickly, and clean up the register by removing information we know to be incorrect or misleading.

These new and enhanced powers enable us to prevent further abuse of the register and to play an even greater role in the cross government approach in identifying, disrupting and preventing economic crime.

This will underpin our efforts to drive up the accuracy of the information held on the registers – improving the quality and reliability of our data which, in turn, will increase the value of the registers for businesses across the UK and beyond.

We will be focusing our attention this year on the highest priority areas of legislative reform and will be further ramping up our work in implementing the significant changes to our processes and systems. Our teams will be bringing in new ways of working and we will be testing, learning and evolving our skills and practices at pace to deliver on our new role.

Our ambition is clear – to act as quickly as possible in implementing the legislation and start to make a real difference. However, we have also been clear that we will continue to take a phased and prioritised approach to introducing these changes. Some changes will need a significant amount of secondary legislation, and some will require comprehensive change to our systems and processes – all of which will take time to achieve.

We also must ensure that while we’re implementing such a significant programme of change, we need to maintain our existing services for our customers, and continue to use our resources efficiently and effectively.

We are proud to be driving confidence in the economy by creating a transparent and accountable business environment. And that the use of our data informs business and consumer decisions, supports growth and helps disrupt economic crime. We remain confident that we can, and will continue to, balance the ease of doing business in the UK and effective regulation.

We are pleased to present Companies House’s corporate business plan for April 2024 to March 2025.

John Clarke - Chair of Companies House.

Louise Smyth - Chief Executive and Registrar of Companies for England and Wales.

About Companies House

Companies House is an executive agency of the UK Government, sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). We hold the UK’s register of companies and the Register of Overseas Entities.

Through the accuracy and transparency of the information we make freely available about companies on the registers, we support and promote confidence and growth in the UK economy.

Over 1,400 people work for Companies House. We have offices in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast. 

Louise Smyth is the Chief Executive of Companies House, the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales and the Regulator for Community Interest Companies. The Registrar of Companies for Scotland is Lisa Davis and Lynn Cooper is the Registrar of Companies for Northern Ireland.

Our main board consists of the chair, chief executive, executive directors and non-executive board members. The main board oversees all aspects of our organisation including performance, finances and strategic direction. The main board reports to the Department for Business and Trade on our governance, strategy, priorities and progress. 

Companies House is the home of company information. We:

• incorporate, maintain and dissolve companies
• publish company information to promote transparency and growth in the UK
• work in a cross government approach to disrupt and tackle economic crime

More than 5 million limited companies are registered in the UK, with over 500,000 new companies incorporated each year. We enable these businesses to fulfil their statutory obligations throughout a company’s ‘lifetime’ – from incorporation to dissolution.

We aim to make it as smooth as possible for legitimate businesses to set up and run a company. In exchange for granting limited liability, we publish valuable information about companies. This provides corporate transparency and deters those who would use the registers for fraudulent purposes.   

We publish company information which is easily accessible and available free of charge. There were over 14 billion searches of our information last year by a wide range of people including businesses, researchers, government and many public bodies, as well as the general public.

Companies House also holds and maintains the Register of Overseas Entities. Owners of land or property in the UK who are based overseas must register their beneficial owners or managing officers with Companies House.

We set up the Register of Overseas Entities in August 2022. Over 30,000 overseas entities are now registered, providing transparency about who owns land or property in the UK. This makes it more difficult for those thinking of using UK property to hide illicit wealth. The information on this register has been searched just under 1 million times so far.

We play a key role in the cross government approach to identifying and disrupting economic crime. This means we:

• carry out intelligence and analysis on the data we hold
• proactively share information with trusted external partners to aid investigations
• where appropriate, provide crucial evidence to tackle economic crime and other criminal activity

Companies House also has a good reputation globally. We collaborate and share best practice with many other business registries around the world. We continue to play an active role in the Corporate Registers Forum (CRF) and European Business Registry Association (EBRA), two of the leading international associations of business registries.

Our purpose, vision and strategy

In 2020 we set out an ambitious 5 year corporate strategy with a clear purpose and vision for Companies House.

Our purpose

Our purpose is to drive confidence in the UK economy.

Our vision is to be the most innovative, open and trusted register in the world – with brilliant services delivered by brilliant people.

Our strategy

Our strategy contains 6 strategic goals that reflect our vision for Companies House. Each goal has a set of strategic outcome statements that describe what we aim to achieve by the end of March 2025.

Strategic goal 1: Registers and data that inspire trust and confidence

The strategic outcomes for this goal are that:

• we are clear with our customers about their statutory duties
• using our new powers has improved the quality of the data on our registers
• trust in the value of the data on our registers has increased

Strategic goal 2: Maximising the value of our registers to the UK economy

The strategic outcome for this goal is that the value of our registers to the UK economy has increased.

Strategic goal 3: Combatting economic crime through active use of analysis and intelligence

The strategic outcomes for this goal are that we:

• have an intelligence hub and are proactively identifying and investigating suspicious activity and misuse of our registers
• pursue those who misuse our registers
• authorise corporate service providers and proactively investigate and report those who facilitate the misuse of the registers

Strategic goal 4: Brilliant services that give a great user experience

• external user satisfaction with our digital services is high
• we will commence digital communications with companies, as first choice
• our digital services are easy to use and accessible, enabling users to file and get information right first time, and minimising avoidable contact and complaints

Strategic goal 5: Our culture enables our brilliant people to flourish

• our people embrace and facilitate our organisational changes and focus on building an inclusive positive culture to ensure a great user experience and service delivery for our customers
• our leaders and managers are equipped with the skills to build the culture and commitment we need to deliver our strategic goals and outcomes
• our diversity and inclusion activity is data driven, evidence led, and delivery focused
• our roles are aligned to civil service professions resulting in clearly defined career paths and development opportunities
• hybrid ways of working to support our strategy and transformation have been embedded​​​​​​​
• our strategic workforce plans ensure we have the right people in place at the right time, with the right skills to support our future strategic outcomes and objectives

Strategic goal 6: Delivering value through efficient use of resources

• a financial funding and fees model is established to deliver our services and strategy
• our investments deliver realised benefits and public value
• our functional standards are managed and maintained
• we have met our efficiency target
• internal controls and budgetary discipline are in place and are effective in enabling us to operate services within our budget allocation

Implementing new legislation to improve corporate transparency and tackle economic crime

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCT Act 2023) received Royal Assent in October 2023. The act introduces the biggest changes to Companies House since corporate registrations were established in 1844. We’ll have the power to play a far more significant role in tackling economic crime, supporting economic growth, and making sure the UK is one of the best places in the world to start and grow a business. 

The ECCT Act 2023 builds on the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022, which introduced the Register of Overseas Entities. Together, they are a major step forward in strengthening Companies House’s role as outlined in the economic crime plans 1 and 2, to work across government on tackling economic crime and improving corporate transparency. 

The ECCT Act 2023 sets out 4 new objectives for the registrars to promote:

• ensure any person who is required to deliver a document to the register does so (and that the requirements for proper delivery are complied with)
• ensure information on the register is accurate and that the register contains everything it ought to contain
• ensure records kept by the registrar do not create a false or misleading impression to members of the public
• prevent companies and others from carrying out unlawful activities or facilitating the carrying out by others of unlawful activities

Delivering to these new objectives underpins our implementation of the ECCT Act 2023.

We have already begun to inform companies, and those submitting information on their behalf, of the changes to UK company law and their legal obligations. Throughout this year, as changes are rolled out, we will be continuing our information campaigns to ensure that the requirements for proper delivery are complied with. Alongside this we are making our systems and services easy to use and digital first, ensuring that our customers can do the right thing independently and easily.

We have already begun using our enhanced powers which came into effect on 4 March 2024. We are now able to query, remove and reject inaccurate information.  

Operating within our new compliance framework, we will make optimal use of our resources by adopting a targeted and proportionate approach.

We will also have a clear enforcement strategy in place and will be able to prosecute a number of new criminal offences. We will prosecute some of these offences directly. We’ll also work to investigate and prosecute in partnership with the Insolvency Service (INSS). These new criminal offences will result in a range of sanctions including imprisonment for the most severe of offences.

We will also have new sanctions specific to authorised corporate service providers (ACSPs). Under certain circumstances, the registrars will be able to suspend and de-authorise an ACSP from filing on the public register.

Through continued gathering and analysing of our own intelligence, and more proactive sharing across trusted partners across government and law enforcement agencies, we will now play a much more significant role in the fight against economic crime.

Our intelligence focus will align to our strategic intelligence assessment and support implementation of the registrars’ objectives. We will work closely with partners to tackle threats that apply to all of us, called ‘cross cutting threats’, ensuring that we prioritise those that cause significant harm to the public. Our intelligence function will also support our enforcement colleagues in dealing with non compliant companies. 

Having these new powers, combined with our intelligence and enforcement regime will help us:

• maintain the accuracy of the information on the register
• protect the public
• disrupt criminal activity

What we plan to deliver from April 2024 to March 2025

Strategic goal 1: our registers and data inspire trust and confidence.

Increasing the integrity and accuracy of information on the registers is central to our corporate vision and a fundamental part of the UK’s corporate transparency framework.

How we’ll progress towards strategic goal 1

We’ll prioritise cleaning up the existing information on the registers by identifying and removing information that we know to be inaccurate.

We’ll require companies to provide us with a registered email address and an appropriate registered office address. We’ll also issue a requirement for companies to confirm that they are forming the company for a lawful purpose when they incorporate and confirm that continued lawful purpose annually.

We’ll proactively use our new powers to ensure companies on the register have a legitimate address, in particular taking action against identity and address theft. We will stop the use of Royal Mail PO Boxes and equivalent services as an appropriate registered office address by the end of March 2025. We’ll take action against companies that do not have an appropriate office address or are using an address that has been hijacked, in line with the new legislation.

We’ll use our new and enhanced powers to query and reject information submitted to us, where it’s clear information is false, misleading or suspicious. In some cases, we will also annotate information on the register, at an individual and corporate level.

We’ll expedite the process of striking off companies so that we can act more quickly than we previously could, where we have evidence of fraudulent information. This is particularly important where personal information has been used without consent, and we will conduct appropriate investigations where this has happened.

We’ll introduce a registration process for third party agents to become authorised corporate service providers (ACSPs). This will be an early first stage of authorisation to become recognised to transact with us on behalf of a company and an important pre-cursor to completing an identity verification check. Setting up third party agents as ACSPs is a key measure to ensure only those who are authorised will be permitted to complete transactions with Companies House on behalf of registered companies.

We’ll get ready for the introduction of identity verification which will become mandatory for anyone setting up, running, owning or controlling a company in the UK, and those who file on behalf of companies. This year we will be developing the significant changes to our systems and service integrations required to release this major initiative. By the end of March 2025, we will have introduced the technical capability to verify an individual’s identity. This will begin a transition process for a phased roll out from Spring 2025 and beyond.

We’ll begin development of process changes to impose limits on the use of corporate directors, subject to certain exemptions, as set out under the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015.

We’ll develop processes that enable the suppression of personal information from the register, including suppression of the company’s registered office address, if it is a person’s residential address. We will also enable changes that will allow people who are personally at risk, rather than at risk due to the activities of the company, to apply for protection of their information.

We’ll scale up data governance processes within our new and existing services and data quality metrics, with measures in place for our most critical data points.

Informing companies and those affected by the new legislation is an important duty and the first of the registrars’ objectives. We’ll continue our external communications campaign to ensure that our customers, their agents and key stakeholders are fully aware of when and how they will be impacted by the changes and are confident about what they need do and by when.

Strategic goal 2: We maximise the value of our registers to the UK economy

The information we publish is used to support millions of business decisions, with its transparency contributing to the UK being regarded as a world leading place to do business. Research commissioned and published in 2019 estimated the value of the register to the UK economy to be worth over £1 to 3 billion per year.

We are confident that our work to improve the quality and availability of company information over the past 4 years of our strategy period, combined with the commitments we’re making this year, will:

• encourage greater confidence in the registers
• result in even greater use of the information on the registers
• contribute to maximising the value of our registers to the UK economy

As outlined throughout this business plan, the focus across the organisation this year will be on delivering the new legislation and enhanced powers and ensuring the promotion of the registrars’ new objectives.

All of the activities outlined under strategic goal 1 to clean up the register will improve the quality of the information we use and share, and as a result, will continue to increase confidence, trust and use of it.

In this way, we anticipate that the value of the information will continue to grow as we implement the reforms under the ECCT Act 2023. We plan to replicate the previous study we undertook to measure the value at a later date, when these changes have had time to embed.

We have also recently commissioned new research to understand the value of the information and intelligence we share with law enforcement partners and anti-money laundering regulated businesses. We will be working through and acting upon the findings and recommendations of this research throughout this financial year.

Strategic goal 3: We combat economic crime through active use of analysis and intelligence

With the ECCT Act 2023 in place, we can now:

• gather, analyse and proactively share more intelligence than ever before
• request data from other partners
• pursue collaborative working opportunities across government and with law enforcement organisations to disrupt and take action against criminal activity

We will develop a strategic intelligence assessment, alongside partners, to identify and assess strategic threats posed to the UK through misuse of corporate structures. We will also continually develop our understanding of how third party agents can be used to hide the identities of those seeking to abuse Companies House processes and the ways in which the true control of limited companies is obscured.  

Our strategic intelligence assessment will be followed by a control strategy and series of action plans to detail how we, working in collaboration with our partners, will focus our activities to take action related to each of those threats.

We have been onboarded to cross government intelligence sharing systems already.This, together with other data sets, will be used to take forward a multi agency disruption approach through proactive sharing of intelligence and analysis.

In addition, we have been receiving and scrutinising money laundering reports from entities required to carry out due diligence checks under the Money Laundering Regulations, called ‘obliged entities’ .

We already share data through European Union’s anti-money laundering regulations. We will continue building on this essential collaborative working this year and will pursue further partnerships that build on our cross working approach.

In addition, the economic crime plan 2 sets out an additional range of actions for us and our partners in this area. We will be taking these forward throughout the coming year.

To build our capability across all of our work in this new regulatory space we will be continually learning, testing and refining our approach, building in more checks to adapt to emerging integrity issues, and ensuring we continually make effective and consistent decisions that are proportionate to the problem.

How we’ll progress towards strategic goal 3

We’ll establish further relationships and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with a range of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to share data and intelligence to enable a multi-agency disruption approach to tackling economic crime.

We’ll work with the Insolvency Service (INSS) to identify and take action in prosecution cases, with up to 250 cases referred to INSS each year.

We’ll increase data insights for intelligence and enforcement teams, required for identifying and analysing trends, taking action against non-compliance and pursuing enforcement action to tackle economic crime.

We’ll develop a strategic intelligence assessment, followed by a control strategy and series of action plans to take action, together with partners, against identified threats.

We’ll have an enforcement framework in place and take action in accordance with this for companies that are non-compliant We’ll ensure a process of continual learning, testing and refining our approach to compliance and enforcement.

We’ll build the systems, processes and capability to deliver a robust, joined up scrutiny process for onboarding ACSPs. We will undertake ongoing compliance, monitoring and enforcement where necessary, linking with anti-money laundering supervisors and the wider economic crime eco-system.

We’ll begin development of services that will enable the wide-ranging limited partnerships reforms which will bring legal requirements for limited partnerships in line with the requirements for limited companies. This will include the need for identify verification, increased transparency of data and invoking new powers to remove dormant partnerships.

Now that we have over 30,000 entities registered on the Register of Overseas Entities, our focus will switch to scrutinising the information on the register and understanding it’s impact. We will work with overseas company registers and UK Land Registry to identify those that have failed to comply with their obligations. We will actively follow up on information supplied and not updated, and use our querying powers to maintain and improve the accuracy of the information supplied, targeting individuals who attempt to avoid transparency.

We’ll work proactively, alongside our law enforcement colleagues, to disrupt the use of UK property to hide illicit wealth.

Strategic goal 4: Our brilliant services give a great user experience

Our corporate strategy set out our ambitions to become a digital first organisation where our digital services are designed to be easy to use and intuitive, so that our customers can do the right thing, first time.

We have achieved high levels of digital adoption of services already and are continuing to encourage customers to choose digital first. This is quicker for our customers, more efficient for us and saves costs for us all, while reducing our impact on the environment through reduced paper and post. 

We achieved consistently high digital service availability throughout 2023 to 2024 while managing a complex technology estate as well as innovating and responding rapidly to user needs. For example:

• 91% of over 14 million transactions per year are submitted and processed digitally
• 4.3 million advanced searches of the registers are made using advanced web functionality
• 99% of confirmation statements and incorporations are submitted digitally each year

This year we will maintain our existing infrastructure and aim to ensure that our digital services remain available for customers 99.5% of the time. 

Throughout this year we will be focusing on continuing the development and roll out of new services as we start to implement the changes brought about by the ECCT Act 2023. We will also be optimising our existing infrastructure to ensure we have reliable, secure and cost effective services that provide value for money.

How we’ll progress towards strategic goal 4

We’ll optimise our current IT services and infrastructure to ensure reliable, secure and cost-effective services that realise efficiencies and provide high performing, sustainable and accessible digital services for our customers and colleagues.

We’ll review and assess the future direction for an end to end service led model, consolidating our infrastructure, making it more flexible and adaptable to changing needs and leveraging new technologies including artificial intelligence (AI).

We are pleased with our audit report from the Welsh Language Commissioner in 2023 but are also committed to improving the bilingual services we offer from 2024.We’ll continue to build our Welsh language capability into our new digital services as they come on stream to comply with legal obligations. In addition we will take forward research with our service users, and prioritise our Welsh Language Scheme action plan.

We’ll continue to work with our customers and software vendors to help them prepare for future mandatory digital filing of financial accounts.

Strategic goal 5: Our culture enables our brilliant people to flourish and drives high performance

Our business plan could not be delivered without the commitment and dedication of our brilliant people. We continue to embrace and promote a positive and inclusive culture that supports everyone working at Companies House. We encourage everyone to bring their whole selves to work, celebrate diversity and provide opportunities for people at all levels to develop their skills. 

We are proud to have been recognised for the work we do to support our people through a Platinum Award by Investors in People (IIP). We’ve now received this award for the second time in a row, an accolade that only 5% of organisations across the world share.

This financial year brings huge opportunity and change to Companies House as we continue to transition to a more regulatory role, which is changing what we do and how we do it. Our fantastic people sit at the very heart of our transformation.

Over the year ahead our focus will be on ensuring we have the skills and capabilities we need to deliver on our new role. That will begin with phased recruitment, onboarding and training to new roles across the business.

As well as increasing our resource, we will ensure that we retain our excellent culture and build resilience at all levels by ensuring all our people feel involved, valued, engaged and heard. We will aim for our organisational behaviours and strong culture to be weaved through the fabric of our new role in society.

In 2023, our Edinburgh team moved to a new location within a Government Property Agency (GPA) hub. In 2024, our Northern Ireland office will change location. We will also be preparing for a potential move from our existing Cardiff office.

How we’ll progress towards strategic goal 5

We’ll continuously seek to innovate and improve our already strong employment brand and recruitment techniques. We will strengthen our outreach and employer brand campaigns to attract future talent and critical skills, particularly in digital and data. We will continue to build relationships with educational establishments and taking an innovative approach to attracting and developing our people by keeping abreast of the latest trends in industry.

We’ll continue to develop our workforce with a focus on building talent pipelines and career paths with the ongoing assessment and building of capability frameworks through Government Professions.

We’ll strive to build a true data culture at every level within the organisation through a commitment to delivering foundational data training to 90% of our people, new learning pathways for those roles responsible for data, and by growing our community of practice.

We’ll work collaboratively to drive high performance through increased levels of employee engagement and shared information. We’ll encourage an environment that embraces and facilitates change, celebrates success and is honest about our challenges. We’ll create opportunities for people’s voices to be heard and acted upon and championing our adaptable, bold and curious behaviours.

We’ll carry out the preparatory work for our confirmed and potential office moves. We’ll particularly focus on employee engagement and relations, maintaining our open and resilient culture, planning for effective use of space and place to enable new ways of working and high performance that is fit for the future.

Strategic goal 6: We deliver value through efficient use of resources

Companies House is committed to good governance and value for money.

Operating efficiently and effectively as part of central government is a core objective to achieve this strategic goal and underpins our work across Companies House. Working with others across government and more widely provides opportunities to be more efficient and effective within the resources available to us.

Throughout the coming year we focus on identifying and leveraging efficiencies through development and delivery of new and improved processes and systems that are needed to deliver our priorities.

We will continue to make evidence based decisions across all areas, including:

• how and when we prioritise our work
• identifying and implementing new ways of working that enable the most efficient use of our people
• looking for opportunities to invest to save where required
• outsourcing contracts where we can demonstrate it provides the best value for money

As technology continues to advance rapidly, we continue to explore opportunities and develop plans to achieve a digital infrastructure that is fit for the future. The government’s 2021 National AI Strategy highlighted the importance of using AI within the public sector and for the public good.

Following this, in March 2023 the Science and Technology Framework identified AI as one of the critical technologies for the UK to achieve its ambitions to be a science and technology superpower by 2030.

Throughout the coming year, we will continue to build our digital capabilities by seeking new and innovative ways to use technology to work smarter, increase automation, and gain efficiencies. This will include using machine learning and taking an incremental test and learn approach to the adoption of AI.

We will also continue to work across government to identify where shared services and joint working will support us to be able to deliver on our commitments and realise efficiencies.

How we’ll progress towards strategic goal 6

We’ll adopt the Government Efficiency Framework to support the delivery of efficiencies, by defining and categorising efficiency savings in line with government best practice.  

We’ll complete the move from our current office in Belfast to new premises and prepare for moving from our current Cardiff office, focusing on the efficient use of space and resource.

We’ll implement the Procurement Act 2023 which will involve updating our processes, guidance and documentation, and onboarding to the new central government portal for procurement, anticipated by autumn 2024.

We’ll achieve the Government Minimum Security Standards and reflect the expectations of the Government Security Group and National Technical Authorities in our policies and operations.

We’ll prepare a detailed AI adoption plan focused on improving productivity and delivery, and realising efficiencies.

Public targets

Our public targets for this year reflect the most significant commitments in our business plan for 2024 to 2025. These targets are agreed with the Minister of State, and published in both Houses of Parliament under their name.

Throughout the year we track and report progress against the delivery of these targets to our executive and main boards, and the Department for Business and Trade.

2024 public targets

1.Use our new powers to ensure companies on the register have a legitimate address - in particular, by taking action against identity and address theft:

• have been removed from the register;
• be pending removal; or,
• have been updated to an appropriate registered office address in accordance with the law
• eradicate the use of Royal Mail PO Boxes and equivalent services as a registered office address by companies on the register

2. Introduce the technical capability to verify an individual’s identity by March 2025: this will help ensure Companies House is prepared for the anticipated transition process whereby all new and existing company directors and persons of significant control will be required to verify their identity either directly through Companies House or through authorised third parties.

3. Develop a strategic intelligence assessment to identify the priority areas for action in the fight against economic crime, and act upon it.

4. Digital services are available for a minimum of 99.5% of the time.

5. All incoming calls into our contact centre are answered within an average of 4 minutes.

6. 80% of customers are satisfied with Companies House.

7. Manage expenditure within budgetary limits and utilise central government funding.

Monitoring and reporting

Companies House regularly monitors and reports progress against the commitments in this business plan throughout the year. In addition, Parliament and the public can review how Companies House is performing in our annual report and accounts .

More information can be found in Companies House official statistics and other public data sets.

Reports on the implementation and operation of parts 1 to 3 of the ECCT Act 2023 will be laid in Parliament in line with the statutory requirements.

Funding the plan

Companies House is funded through the Department for Business and Trade and through fees which are charged for services, as set out in legislation.

Fees are set on a cost recovery basis. This means that our fees must cover the cost of the services we deliver. We do not make a profit on our fees.  

In May 2024 we will increase our fees to cover the cost of the services we deliver and take future expenditure into account as we deliver the new powers and the wider package of reforms in the ECCT Act 2023. We will continue to review our fees every year to make sure they are set at the right level. 

Our transformation programme activity has benefited from financial support from the Department for Business and Trade following approval of our full business case in 2023 through to 31 March 2025.

Following a successful bid, we have secured additional funding via the Economic Crime (anti-money laundering) Levy (ECL) for a 3-year period, ending in March 2026. This funding will support our contribution to vision set out in the economic crime plan 2.

This table shows the Companies House budget delegations for 2024 to 2025.

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UK’s Big Plan to Curb Bank Payment Scams Faces Risk of Misfiring

• New regime for scam-victim refunds to roll out on Oct. 7
• Critics say firms aren’t fully prepared, warn of more frauds

Hundreds of financial firms are struggling to comply with a new UK regime designed to rein in online payment scams before an Oct. 7 deadline after one of the worst summers for fraud.

The incoming rules from the Payment Systems Regulator require all British banks, fintechs, and payment companies to refund fraud victims within five days. But many firms aren’t prepared for a key system underpinning the settlement framework, people familiar with the matter said.

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• Tous les articles
• Restauration
• Commerce de détail

Comment rédiger un business plan qui tienne la route pour son restaurant ?

• par Simon Renard

minute(s) de lecture

Vous avez trouvé le concept idéal pour votre restaurant : fantastique ! 

Il est temps d’élaborer un business plan afin que votre concept puisse donner naissance à un établissement prospère et durable. Un business plan bien conçu est essentiel pour conférer à votre projet d’ouverture de restaurant toute la crédibilité nécessaire, notamment si vous souhaitez attirer des investisseurs potentiels. 

Dans cet article, on décrypte ce que doit contenir un business plan bien ficelé et construit pour votre restaurant. 

• Business plan : définition 
• Pourquoi rédiger un business plan pour son restaurant

Que doit contenir le business plan d’un restaurant ? 

Bonnes pratiques à adopter pour rédiger le business plan de son restaurant .

•  Combien coûte un business plan ?

Que doit inclure le business plan d’un restaurant  : les sections à inclure

Le guide marketing ultime pour votre restaurant.

Des réseaux sociaux au marketing d'influence en passant par l'email marketing, découvrez toutes les tactiques pour promouvoir la visibilité de votre restaurant et attirer plus de clients.

Qu’est-ce qu’un business plan  ?

Le business plan (ou plan d’affaires) est un document physique ou en ligne présentant de manière synthétique un projet d’ouverture ou de reprise d’une entreprise. Le business plan présente de manière détaillée la stratégie commerciale et financière d’un projet de création d’entreprise . À la manière d’un CV, il aiguille ses destinateurs sur la motivation, la personnalité et le degré de préparation d’un projet entrepreneurial.

Dans le cadre d’un projet d’ouverture de restaurant, le business plan agit en tant que support de communication pour convaincre investisseurs, futurs clients ou même futurs employés de la viabilité et pérennité du projet dans les années à venir.

Un business plan d’un restaurant doit être rédigé dans le cadre d’une création ou d’une reprise d’activité afin d’étayer d’éventuels changements qui pourraient avoir un impact sur les prévisions financières du restaurant.

La rédaction d’un business plan doit répondre globalement aux questions suivantes : 

• Parcours personnel et scolaire du ou des porteurs de projet 
• Concept (culinaire, aménagement restaurant, etc)
• Étude de marché et concurrence 
• Besoins financiers (prévisions, modes de financement, calcul de rentabilité)
• Stratégie marketing

Pourquoi rédiger un business plan pour son restaurant 

S’il n’est pas obligatoire, le business plan d’un restaurant structure le projet d’ouverture ou de reprise d’un restaurant en permettant au porteur de projet d’analyser ses forces et faiblesses, les points d’amélioration à apporter et les moyens d’y arriver. 

Que vous planifiez d’ouvrir un restaurant traditionnel, un café , un bar , un kébab , un restaurant éphémère ou tout autre type d’établissement, le business plan constitue le socle sur lequel chaque porteur de projet doit pouvoir s’appuyer pour étayer sa vision et ses besoins financiers, qui permettront ensuite d’affiner sa stratégie marketing.

Revoir son business plan de manière régulière à mi-parcours (par exemple, à 1.5 an dans le cadre d’un business plan sur 3 ans) permet d’évaluer objectivement les points positifs et négatifs et d’ajuster le tir si nécessaire. 

  Le business plan est également pertinent dans la recherche de financement de son projet : 

• Obtention d’un prêt bancaire ;
• Négociation de délais de paiements auprès de fournisseurs ou partenaires potentiels ; 
• Levée de fonds auprès d’investisseurs.

Le business plan d’un restaurant se compose en général de deux parties : 

• Une partie “stratégie et opérations” qui doit inclure une analyse du marché, positionnement, stratégie marketing, produits et services (menu), ou encore vision : utile pour convaincre futurs associés, employés ou partenaires de la pertinence du projet ! 
• Une partie “Analyse financière” qui doit recenser un compte de résultat prévisionnel, le plan de financement prévisionnel ou encore le flux de trésorerie (besoin en fonds de roulement, capacités d’autofinancement)

Une fois la structure et le contenu de votre business plan en tête, la seconde étape consiste à lui donner vie. Voici quelques conseils pour accoucher d’un business plan qui ne rebutera pas vos interlocuteurs (mieux : qui leur donneront envie de travailler avec vous ! ): 

• Clarté et lisibilité de votre contenu : évitez les jargons !
• Soyez concis et synthétique :  à la manière d’un CV ou d’une lettre de motivation, le business plan d’un restaurant doit inciter vos lecteurs à vous contacter pour en apprendre davantage.
• Pensez à étayer vos propos avec des sources fiables : une étude de marché ou une analyse de la concurrence avec des chiffres erronés sera facilement identifiable par un banquier ou un investisseur. Soyez le plus rigoureux possible, sous peine d’entacher votre crédibilité et votre motivation  !
• Faites vous relire par votre entourage ou autres personnes non impliquées dans votre projet : outre les éventuelles fautes de grammaire ou de syntaxe, elles pourront mettre en évidence l’utilisation de jargons techniques incompréhensibles ou affiner le concept de votre restaurant si ce dernier apparaît confus.

Combien coûte un business plan ?

Le coût d’un business plan est variable. Il existe principalement trois méthodes permettant de créer un business plan pour son restaurant :

• Créer soi-même son business plan : si cette méthode est gratuite, elle n’en reste pas moins chronophage et implique de consacrer du temps aussi bien dans la préparation et l’analyse prévisionnelle et marketing de son business plan que dans la rédaction en elle-même du business plan. Pour vous aider à gagner du temps sur cette partie, Lightspeed met à disposition des restaurateurs un modèle de business plan entièrement gratuit avec les informations clés déjà complétées : vous n’avez plus qu’à remplir les informations manquantes dans le document directement.
• Téléchargez et personnalisez un modèle de business plan clé en main : comptez entre 50 et 100 euros en moyenne
• Logiciel de business plan en ligne (entre 0 et 30 euros par mois) :  la solution la plus pratique si vous souhaitez modifier à tout moment votre business plan (il vous suffit d’une simple connexion Internet).
• Faire appel à un professionnel : expert-comptable, avocat ou consultant spécialisé peuvent prendre en charge l’élaboration du business plan. Comptez entre 300 et 3 000 euros selon la complexité de votre projet (business plan complet, prévisionnel, étude de marché, etc) et l’intervenant.

Téléchargez notre modèle de business plan clé en main pour restaurants

Ce modèle de business plan facile à utiliser est conçu pour aider les restaurateurs en herbe à mettre leurs projets à exécution.

Résumé opérationnel : la pierre angulaire de votre business plan 

Tout business plan dans le secteur de l’hôtellerie-restauration doit commencer par un résumé opérationnel exhaustif : votre idée visualisée sur une ou deux pages sous les angles opérationnels les plus importants. Pensez à quoi, où, comment et pourquoi.

Dans cette partie de votre business plan,  cherchez avant tout à mettre en avant votre passion et votre enthousiasme pour votre projet d’ouverture, tout en donnant un bref aperçu des points mentionnés dans les chapitres suivants. Si vous souhaitez attirer des investisseurs ou contracter un prêt, c’est la partie où vous devez les convaincre de se pencher plus en détail dans votre business plan. 

La mission, la vision et les objectifs de votre activité doivent absolument figurer dans cette section, de même que votre clientèle cible, votre positionnement sur le marché, la concurrence et l’analyse financière.

Remarque : il est préférable de rédiger l’introduction lorsque le reste de votre business plan est finalisé. Vous pourrez ainsi facilement inclure les aspects les plus importants de chaque chapitre dans votre résumé opérationnel.

Informations cruciales

Inscrivez dans cette section toutes les informations qui forment la base de votre concept : vos données personnelles, les données de votre (toute nouvelle) entreprise, plus d’informations sur votre concept, sur la façon dont vous visualisez votre restaurant, et un exemple de menu pour disposer d’une meilleure vision de votre offre et de vos prix.

Données personnelles

Vous pouvez considérer cette section comme votre CV personnel. Soyez aussi complet que vous le souhaitez, mais les informations minimales que vous devez inclure sont les suivantes :

• Téléphone
• Adresse email
• Site web personnel ou profil LinkedIn
• Date de naissance
• Nationalité
• Situation familiale
• Expérience professionnelle
• Éducation
• Qualités professionnelles et personnelles

Données sur l’entreprise

Dans cette section de votre business plan, vous devez fournir des informations similaires à celles de la section précédente, mais centrées sur votre activité. Les données importantes à inclure ici sont les suivantes :

• Nom commercial
• Siège social ou lieu d’activité
• Forme juridique
• Date de lancement
• Numéro d’entreprise ou de chambre de commerce
• Numéro de TVA
• Secteur ou branche
• Licences de restauration

Il est temps de décrire plus en détail votre idée unique. 

Avez-vous constaté un problème ou une lacune sur le marché ou dans la région où vous souhaitez vous implanter ? Quelle est la solution proposée par votre concept ? Énumérez quelques caractéristiques clés de votre concept : thème, identité, emplacement , groupe cible et concurrence la plus proche. 

Remarque : n’entrez pas dans les détails, car la plupart de ces caractéristiques seront traitées dans les chapitres suivants de votre business plan.

Plan et agencement

Dans cette partie, vous pouvez approfondir la v isualisation de votre futur établissement de restauration : comment voyez-vous l’aménagement de votre établissement ? 

Déroulez le plan de salle de votre établissement. Faites la distinction entre les zones opérationnelles telles que le bar, la cuisine, la réfrigération, le stock, les installations sanitaires, etc. et les zones réservées aux sièges et aux repas des clients. 

Décrivez le style que vous souhaitez donner à votre établissement. Pensez à certains matériaux, à des couleurs spécifiques, à des meubles et à des accessoires. Un mood board créatif peut être utile pour représenter vos choix non seulement verbalement, mais aussi visuellement.

Vous avez pour projet d’ouvrir un bar ? Découvrez notre guide complet sur comment aménager votre bar .

Exemple de menu et prix

Afin de convaincre les investisseurs ou banques potentielles, il est important de donner un aperçu de ce à quoi ressemblera le menu de votre restaurant. 

Indiquez également clairement dans quelle fourchette de prix vous souhaitez opérer – et comment vous avez déterminé les prix de votre menu – afin de démontrer la rentabilité de votre concept suffisamment tôt dans votre business plan de restauration. Vous pouvez d’ores et déjà vous reporter au chapitre sur les finances, où vous détaillerez votre business model plus en détail.

Créez votre propre menu en un rien de temps.

Il n'est pas nécessaire d'être un designer pour créer un bon menu. Téléchargez nos modèles de menu gratuits et lancez-vous.

Opérations

Dans de nombreux cas, le succès d’une entreprise de restauration dépend de son personnel. Il dépend également d’une chaîne d’approvisionnement stable en matière d’ingrédients, de produits et de provisions. 

Dans ce chapitre, vous dressez la liste de vos besoins en personnel : combien de personnes pensez-vous devoir employer , comment allez-vous aborder le processus de recrutement et de formation, et quels sont vos plans en termes d’horaires de travail, de rémunération et de congés ? 

Les frais de personnel pèsent généralement lourd dans le chiffre d’affaires des restaurateurs : il est donc important de les prendre en compte à ce stade. 

Le guide ultime pour embaucher, former et fidéliser le personnel de votre restaurant

Découvrez dans ce guide 4 stratégies à adopter pour réduire la rotation du personnel, améliorer la satisfaction des employés et réduire les coûts de main-d’œuvre dans votre restaurant.

Fournisseurs

Un réseau stable de fournisseurs pour tous vos besoins quotidiens est également important,  non seulement pour votre propre tranquillité d’esprit en tant qu’entrepreneur, mais aussi pour assurer la rentabilité de votre concept. Les restaurants dont les concepts sont complexes, difficiles ou exotiques ont souvent moins d’options pour s’approvisionner en ingrédients, ce qui peut également avoir des répercussions sur le coût et le délai de livraison.

Analyse de marché

Une analyse de marché est un élément crucial de tout business plan dans le domaine de la restauration. Elle vous permet de prendre en compte les caractéristiques importantes du marché sur lequel vous souhaitez lancer votre concept, telles que les tendances en matière de restauration , le public cible, la concurrence et la localisation. Une analyse de marché approfondie vous permet également de réaliser une analyse SWOT, dans laquelle vous examinez les forces et faiblesses internes et les opportunités et menaces externes de votre concept. 

Étude de marché

Toute analyse requiert les recherches nécessaires. Pour le secteur, la branche ou le créneau auquel votre concept appartient, découvrez les tendances actuelles et comment votre concept s’y intègre ou s’en distingue. Estimez la taille du marché sur lequel vous allez travailler et découvrez si certaines mesures gouvernementales en cours d’élaboration pourraient avoir des implications (positives ou négatives) sur votre marché. 

Conseil bonus : rien n’est plus parlant que d’étayer votre argumentaire avec quelques chiffres vérifiés pour donner plus de punch et de crédibilité à votre recherche. Voyez si vous pouvez dénicher des statistiques pertinentes dans des bases de données publiques que vous pouvez insérer ici ou dans l’une des sous-sections ci-dessous.

Clientèle cible

Bien sûr, tout le monde est le bienvenu dans votre futur restaurant, mais il est important d’axer votre concept sur une clientèle cible spécifique. Déterminez le groupe cible auquel votre concept est le mieux adapté et recherchez comment vous pouvez attirer ce public dans votre restaurant. Passez en revue les catégories de clientèle les plus courantes : étudiants, jeunes adultes, touristes, employés de 9 à 5, navetteurs, travailleurs à domicile, etc.

Concurrence

Dans un monde idéal, vous lancez votre restaurant dans un secteur ou zone où votre concept est unique. Dans la réalité, il est courant que des concurrents ayant les mêmes concepts soient présents sur votre marché. Prenez donc le temps de faire une analyse de la concurrence et ajoutez-la à votre business plan – que ce soit dans cette section ou dans une annexe séparée. 

Comparez votre concept, votre approche, vos offres et vos prix à ceux de vos plus proches concurrents, et expliquez pourquoi et comment votre futur restaurant  se distingue des autres.

Emplacement 

C’est sans aucun doute l’un des aspects les plus importants et les plus difficiles du lancement d’un restaurant . Les locaux prestigieux situés dans des endroits très prisés ont souvent un coût élevé, que tous les entrepreneurs débutants ne peuvent pas se permettre. Mais parfois, commencer avec un plus petit emplacement est une meilleure stratégie à long terme que de tout miser sur une localisation coûteuse et de faire face à la dure réalité financière quelques mois après l’ouverture. 

Analyse SWOT

L’analyse des forces, faiblesses, opportunités et menaces (matrice SWOT) est une valeur ajoutée objective à tout business plan pour le secteur de l’hôtellerie – restauration qui ne doit pas être sous-estimée. Avec une analyse SWOT, vous exposez clairement les forces et les faiblesses de votre entreprise, et vous découvrirez sans doute des opportunités ou des menaces que vous n’aviez pas envisagées. Sur la base d’une analyse SWOT, vous pouvez tirer des conclusions claires et des points d’action et les mettre en œuvre correctement. 

Votre concept a beau être fantastique : si vous ne recevez pas de clients, vous pouvez rapidement fermer vos portes. Raison de plus pour réfléchir aux techniques et stratégies marketing que vous envisagez pour attirer votre public cible et le fidéliser.

Canaux de mise en avant

Après avoir  défini votre clientèle cible, il est également important de considérer quels sont les meilleurs canaux pour entrer en contact avec elle. En fonction de votre public cible, cela peut être principalement via les réseaux sociaux, mais aussi via le marketing par e-mail, un profil Google My Business , un site Web bien adapté au référencement SEO et bien classé dans les principaux moteurs de recherche en ligne ou encore via le bouche-à-oreille.

​​Publicités, promotions et événements

Une présence active en ligne contribue certainement à la visibilité de votre restaurant, tout comme les publicités, campagnes promotionnelles et les événements qui peuvent également faire des merveilles. Là encore, une définition sans faille de votre public cible sur la base de caractéristiques démographiques est cruciale. Après tout, vous voulez vous assurer que toutes vos campagnes marketing atteignent effectivement votre public cible, et encore plus lorsque vous dépensez de l’argent pour des publicités (en ligne). Le ciblage est ici crucial. 

Les actions ou événements ponctuels sont également des moyens intéressants d’attirer les clients. Pensez à une soirée d’ouverture officielle, aux promotions happy hour, à des formules spéciales pour le déjeuner et à d’autres événements  pour attirer plus de monde.

Analyse et prévisions financières 

Enfin, l’analyse financière de votre restaurant est bien sûr une partie fondamentale d’un business plan. Un aperçu détaillé de la situation financière est important non seulement pour les investisseurs potentiels et les banques, mais aussi pour vous-même. Avec une vision claire des exigences et des besoins financiers de votre entreprise, vous savez exactement à quoi vous attendre au cours des premières années. 

Investissements

La création d’une entreprise implique de nombreux frais de démarrage . Les investissements les plus importants sont bien sûr réalisés avant l’ouverture et souvent aussi pendant la première année. C’est pourquoi il est important de suivre ces investissements et de s’assurer que vous travaillez avec un modèle de revenus qui génère de manière rentable un chiffre d’affaires suffisant pour rembourser vos investissements et, en même temps, pour disposer d’un flux de trésorerie suffisant pour couvrir vos opérations quotidiennes et tous les coûts imprévus. 

Dans le budget de votre business plan, vous devez indiquer exactement comment vous allez gagner de l’argent – et le rembourser, si vous avez contracté un emprunt.

Pour ce faire, il ne s’agit pas de dire que vous allez simplement vendre des produits du menu, mais d’estimer de manière réaliste l’ évolution du nombre de clients et du chiffre d’affaires par rapport aux coûts prévus que vous devrez supporter.

Une ventilation des coûts est également importante ici afin de montrer proportionnellement quelle est la différence entre le remboursement de votre/vos emprunt(s) et le montant des coûts récurrents par mois. Dans la plupart des cas, un budget est établi dans un business plan pour les premières années d’existence d’un restaurant, avec des taux de croissance prévus en termes de chiffre d’affaires et de clients chaque année.

Rédiger un business plan pour son restaurant : la clé du succès ?

Nos recherches montrent que l’absence de business plan pour le secteur de la restauration peut être l’une des raisons de l’échec des restaurants.

 La tâche semble ardue – et ne vous méprenez pas : elle l’est – mais une fois votre concept couché sur le papier, vous aurez acquis des connaissances que vous n’auriez peut-être pas eues auparavant et, en outre, vos chances d’obtenir des prêts, d’attirer des investisseurs et d’assurer le succès global de votre restaurant auront considérablement augmenté.

Vous souhaitez savoir comment Lightspeed peut aider à faire de votre futur restaurant un succès ? Contactez l’un de nos experts dès aujourd’hui pour découvrir comment démarrer sur de bons rails avec notre logiciel de caisse tout-en-un.

Découvrez comment aider votre restaurant à prospérer.

Notre guide vous guidera à travers les nouvelles stratégies de restauration à l’épreuve du temps qui vous aideront à relever les défis de demain

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To Solve Its Housing Crisis, Britain Turns to an Old Idea: New Towns

By reviving an idea from the 1940s, the Labour Party government is hoping to overcome the development hurdles that have plagued previous efforts with a plan to build new communities.

The town of Northstowe in England, once a World War II airfield, will be transformed into a thriving town with 10,000 homes and about 25,000 residents. Credit... Sam Bush for The New York Times

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By Eshe Nelson

Eshe Nelson spent several days with residents and officials in Northstowe and other developments in Cambridgeshire, England.

• Aug. 15, 2024

On a baking hot afternoon in July, Firouz Thompson proudly drove down the freshly paved road that leads into Northstowe, a new town about six miles northwest of Cambridge, England.

“This is where the new town center will be,” said Ms. Thompson, a Northstowe resident, as she pointed to an empty patch of land that will eventually include a market hall, convenience store, library and health center. Nearby there are already a high school and an all-ages special-needs school. Soon, a preschool will open.

By 2040, this former World War II airfield will be transformed into a thriving town with 10,000 homes and about 25,000 residents. Or, at least, the British government, regional officials and residents hope so.

Today, Northstowe has just 1,450 homes in a mixture of low apartment blocks and single-family houses, surrounded by fields, construction sites and newly planted trees that offer no respite from the heat. Nearly a decade after its groundbreaking, Northstowe has become an example of the sluggish pace at which Britain is chipping away at its housing crisis.

“The U.K. has had a worse housing crisis than most of its peer countries, for a longer period than most of its peer countries, whether in Europe or North America,” said Anthony Breach, a researcher at Center for Cities, an urban policy think tank. Britain went from having one of the best housing stocks in Europe after World War II to falling behind, he added.

To address the growing need for homes, the country’s governing Labour Party has vowed to “unleash” development and build 1.5 million homes over the next five years, a pace of house building last seen in the 1960s.

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JTC To Acquire The Buck UK And European Share Plan Administration And Trustee Businesses

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JTC, the global professional services business, is pleased to announce the proposed acquisition of the Buck UK and European Share Plan Administration and Trustee businesses (“Buck Share Plans”) from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm. Completion is subject to regulatory approvals.

The acquisition will complement and enhance JTC’s existing Employer Solutions platform, which continues to deliver attractive growth for the Group. In addition to accelerating JTC’s share plan and trustee service offering, Buck Share Plans will bring with it an existing book of high-quality blue-chip clients, as well as an experienced, client focused and committed team of 16 professionals based in the UK, Guernsey and Germany.

Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of JTC, said:

“This acquisition is exciting for us given share plan services are closely aligned with our own shared ownership philosophy, which has been at the heart of JTC’s culture since 1998. We believe that our passion for shared ownership, combined with the 25-year track record of our Employer Solutions business, continues to cement our position as a market leader. The JTC Employer Solutions business continues to grow strongly, and we are pleased to be able to further expand our employee share plan offering.”

David Piltz, CEO of Gallagher’s Benefits & HR Consulting Division in the UK said:

“JTC’s values define who they are as an organisation, with service excellence at the heart of everything they do. From a Gallagher perspective, cultural fit was such an important factor in our decision to undertake this deal with JTC. It was crucial to us that our people and our clients would be moving to an organisation which shared Gallagher’s values and focus on both exceptional client service and a collaborative, supportive and inclusive working environment.”

Nigel Le Quesne

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