NIQ: 305 hospitality sites in GB shut in Q1
Britain’s hospitality sector lost three venues a day during the first quarter of this year, with bars and nightclubs hit particularly hard.
The April 2026 edition of CGA by NIQ’s Hospitality Market Monitor report revealed there were 98,609 venues at the end of March this year – a drop of 0.3% compared with the previous quarter. This is equal to a net drop of 305 sites, or an average of 3.4 closures per day.
It followed a similar drop in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, meaning that Britain has lost 0.7% of its licensed premises in six months.
The report noted that many venues continue to face rising costs, including labour, energy, food and drink. These same inflationary issues are also impacting consumers’ willingness to spend money on eating and drinking out, NIQ warned.
In terms of outlets, bars were particularly impacted during the first quarter (Q1) of this year, losing 1.2% of their venues compared with the previous quarter.
Bars had a total of 4,666 venues as of March 2026, down from 4,721 the previous quarter. This was 0.3% less than in March 2025 (4,680 sites).
Bar-restaurants suffered a greater loss, falling by 1.8% to 3,338 sites in March 2026, compared with Q4 2025. The number of venues remained the same year on year.
Nightclubs also saw a 1% drop in outlets to 791 for March 2026, compared with Q4. Year on year, the segment was worse off, dropping by 4.2% from 828 venues.
Other segments were less impacted, including restaurants (down 0.2% in Q1 compared with Q4 and up 0.6% year on year) and high-street pubs (down 0.1% quarter to quarter and up 0.2% year on year).
Community pubs dipped by 0.2% compared with the previous quarter, while food pubs were down by 0.4%. Casual dining restaurants saw a 1.8% drop for Q1, compared with Q4.
The entire drinks-led venue segment dipped by 0.2% in March 2026, compared with December 2025, and by 0.3% year on year.
Karl Chessell, director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA at NIQ, said: “There are two ways of looking at hospitality’s performance in the first quarter of 2026. One is that soaring costs are taking a heavy toll and forcing hundreds of businesses to close. The other is that the numbers could have been worse.
“Net closures of 305 venues in three months is disappointing – above all for the operators and employees concerned. But given the heavy pressure on both sales and profits, the latest figures reveal the impressive resilience of thousands of pubs, bars, restaurants and other outlets. Unfortunately, this resolve will be tested further in the next few months.”
Chessell warned that the conflict in the Middle East could result in more price hikes.
He added: “Without targeted support, more closures can be expected over the rest of 2026.”
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