(Reuters) - Restaurant Group Plc (L:RTN) reported a 30.4 percent drop in underlying first-half pretax profit on Thursday, as slowing consumer spending weighed on sales.
Britain's restaurant and pub operators have seen customers cut down on spending as inflation has risen.
Restaurant Group is also facing increased competition from food-focused pubs and a drop in visitors to retail shopping parks, where many of its outlets are located.
It said in March it had put the brake on expansion plans until it could verify its brand and location strategy was "sufficiently robust".
Restaurant Group has rolled out a new menu for its Frankie & Benny's chain focused on lower-cost meals, price reductions on several items and more items targeted at families.
"The new menu is considerably more competitive than the previous version, with entry prices reduced by 22 percent... As a consequence, our prices on key value indicator dishes are now significantly lower than our peer set," the company said in a statement.
The group hired Andy McCue, former boss of betting firm Paddy Power, last September to help drive its recovery. He will be joined by a new finance head, Kirk Davis, who is coming in from pubs company Greene King (LON:GNK) in February.
Restaurant Group, which operates more than 500 restaurants and pubs in the UK, said adjusted profit before tax for the 26 weeks to July 2 fell to 25.5 million pounds ($32.9 million) from 36.6 million pounds a year ago.
The company, which operates under a number of brands that also include Chiquito, said sales at outlets open over a year fell 2.2 percent.