Business rates, alcohol duty and staff wage hikes were cited as key drivers in making sites unviable for operators, according to Lumina Intelligence’s latest UK Pub & Bar Market Report.
This has been exacerbated by consumer caution around spending for weaker sites with weaker peak trading not able to mitigate quieter periods.
The report shows in 2019, total outlets stood at 45,791 with the year seeing a net closure rate of four a week.
Closure figures
Notable M&A activity from since October 2023:
Red Oak Taverns’ purchase of four sites from Marston’s
Piano Works acquired by Nightcap
Young’s completes acquisition of City Pub Group
Whitbread places 126 sites on the market
Portobello Pub Company completes Darwin & Wallace deal
Punch acquires Milton 3 portfolio of 24 pubs
Majestic Wines acquires Vagabond out of administration
Revolution Bars Group ends formal sale process but issues administration warning
Admiral Taverns purchase 37 tenanted Fuller’s pubs
Red Oak Taverns buys 19 Marston’s pubs
M&B acquires Pesto Restaurants
In 2020, the total number fell to 43,977 (4% decrease) while net closures were up to 35 a week during the year the Covid pandemic hit the nation.
The following year saw closures slow to 20 a week with the total number of pubs standing at 42,947 – 2.3% fewer than the previous 12 months.
As the pandemic eased, 2022 saw an overall figure of 42,498 outlets with nine closures a week – this rate was the same in 2023 with total sites recorded at 42,049.
In 2024, the net closure rate is still ahead of 2019 with six shutting their doors on a weekly basis and the total number of outlets at 41,729.
Market share
Elsewhere, the report also showed the managed model was growing its share of the pub market. It is forecast that managed, branded and franchised pubs were expected to account for more than half of market revenue from a quarter of sites this year.
Meanwhile, the first of this year saw an uplift in merger and acquisition activity in the market, signalling an improvement in investor confidence, according to the report.
It stated companies were undergoing strategic estate restructuring in a bid to optimise portfolios and free up capital for acquisitions while operators were concentrating on creating lean, consolidated businesses rather than saturating the market.
- To purchase Lumina Intelligence's full UK Pub and Bar Market Report 2024, click here
