PizzaExpress, Ask and Zizzi owner Gondola has overtaken pub operator Mitchells & Butlers as the UK's largest restaurant group with 525 venues.

The new entrants this year are food-led pub group Laurel (thanks to its acquisition of the La Tasca Spanish tapas bar chain) and Paramount (formerly Groupe Chez Gerarde) which more than trebled its number of outlets when it bought Caffè Uno from The Restaurant Group.

These figures are reported in British Hospitality: Trends and Statistics 2007, published by the British Hospitality Association.

The full report (which is free to BHA members) can be bought for £195 (for the printed version) or £146.25 (for a PDF file).
 For enquiries or orders, phone 0207 404 7744 or contact bob.bacon@bha.org.uk.

+ Little Chef is now owned by private equity group RCapital after falling into administrative receivership in January 2007

Source: Horizons