{"id":1546758,"date":"2026-02-23T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/articles\/how-to-open-restaurant\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T12:25:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T11:25:14","slug":"how-to-open-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lexpress-franchise.com\/en\/articles\/how-to-open-restaurant\/","title":{"rendered":"How to open a restaurant in the UK in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A fitted 40-cover restaurant unit can rent for about \u00a332,000 a year, and on the figures in this guide it needs around 37 covers a day just to break even. Registration with the council is free and due 28 days before opening; what decides whether a restaurant survives is the margin on every cover, the lease and the kitchen it inherits.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The rules below are those of England unless stated: food registration and allergen duties apply UK-wide in substance, while licensing, planning and business rates differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Figures are drawn from current property listings, supplier price lists, HMRC guidance and the statutory fee schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a restaurant business?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A restaurant business sells meals mostly eaten on the premises, from a unit that in England falls within Use Class E(b), the class for the sale of food and drink for consumption mostly on site. That classification is what separates it from a hot food takeaway, which is sui generis and needs its own planning permission. Its economics run on covers, the number of diners served, multiplied by the average spend per head, against a cost base that is mostly fixed: rent, rates, the kitchen team and the front-of-house staff.<\/p>\n\n\n

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SpudBros Express<\/p>\n <\/a>\n

The future of QSR<\/p>\n <\/div>\n