Some of the UK's leading pub and restaurant chains saw like-for-like sales decrease by 1.2 per cent during May, compared with the same period last year.

According to latest research from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker, the monthly fall in like-for-like sales followed a slight increase in April and has reinforced what has been a mixed year for operators. The tracker, which monitors 15 operators including Whitbread, Pizza Hut, Tragus and Punch Pub Company, is produced by Peach Factory in partnership with KPMG, UBS and the Coffer Group.

Month-on-month figures saw May's sales decrease by more than 18 per cent compared with April, although Peach Factory's Peter Martin attributed it to an early Easter period and the half-term falling in June. Martin said: "Part of the reason for May's fall will be down to the fact that school half-term fell in the first week of June this year, rather than in the last week of May as last time.

"However, the overall sense is that sales are being hard won and groups can expect 2010 to be every bit as tough as 2009. This May's result compares with a 0.6 per cent increase in like-for-likes in May last year."