Our favourite brands are at risk from changing demand

Constantly evolving consumer habits are threatening even the biggest names - factor in a competitive marketplace and rising overheads, and they're goners, says Chris Blackhurst

- Chris Blackhurst

There is a sink-or-swim feeling about the City at present, with not much in between. Some companies, among them household names, are going under or struggling, while others, also well-known, are busy buying or selling. TGI Friday's, the UK end of Pizza Hut, Prezzo, Wilko and Typhoo Tea are all on the casualty list, while the likes of Darktrace, Royal Mail, Virgin Money and cardboard giants DS Smith are being bought.

In the last three days alone, there have been three takeover moves for stock-exchange-listed firms: for insurer Direct Line, waste disposal firm Renewi, and the owner of Cosy Club bars, Loungers.

In total, this year so far has seen bids of £52bn for quoted brands. At the same time, the London exchange is set to register its lowest number of flotations on record, with just 14 IPOs across the two main markets. Also, while startups continue to be generated at pace, established businesses that have been around for decades are collapsing.

There is plenty of money available, but only to those deemed to have a future, to possess real potential. Where once, investors and funders might have been prepared to take a risk, they are not any more.

It’s brutal. Our changing dining habits mean there is falling demand for stodgy, carb-loaded food. Sourdough and salad are the new order. The old pizza staples and restaurant chains? Out. They are not given time to adapt, to change their menus. The view is that, however much they try, they are hamstrung by their name. Punters will always see them as providers of volume. Combine that with the mounting overheads of operating on the British high street, and they’re goners.