Amongst these new start-ups, ethnic restaurants continue to be the most popular type of new establishment - in addition research suggests that the UK is leaving behind its takeaway culture.

Five new restaurants opened for business every day in 2007. New research from Startupsplus,  a marketing service for catering industry suppliers, reveals how many new restaurants opened for business in 2007, and reveals some surprising trends about the type of cuisine on offer.

The research into business start-up activity in the food and catering industry during last year has also revealed a number of surprising conclusions.

The number of new restaurants opening in 2007 exceeded the number of take away food outlets that also started out in business ( 1803 restaurants compared to 1701 take-aways ).

This indicates that the UK may be starting to move away from its reputation as a ‘takeaway culture'.

Amongst these new start-ups, ethnic restaurants continued to be the most popular type of new establishment.

Indian and Chinese restaurants were the first and second most popular type of restaurant to open, collectively accounting for over 25% of all openings.

Indeed, of all restaurants opening last year, 40% served ethnic food ranging from Persian to Japanese, Kurdish, Nepalese and Korean.

However, amongst the top ten types of restaurant opened last year, there was a surprisingly broad variety of different cuisines on offer.

For example Italian restaurants ranked third, whilst four of the other top ten types of restaurant to open served traditional, English, bistro or pub style food.

It is possible that the research findings indicate a shift away from the ubiquitous Indian or Chinese restaurant, to more traditional or home-grown styles of dining.

Last years new restaurant openings have been identified by Startupsplus, a direct marketing service which provides suppliers with details of new openings in their industry each month.

A new Startupsplus subscription has been launched specifically for the food and catering industry, enabling suppliers to identify and contact new restaurants, bistros, bars, cafes and delicatessens as soon as they open.

The full list of the top ten types of restaurant to open last year was:

1. Indian
2. Chinese
3. Italian
4. Traditional
5. Bistro
6. Pub Food
7. English
8. Thai
9. Fish/Seafood
10. Modern