Data from CGA and Alix Partners has revealed that the UK hospitality sector is now 14.2 percent smaller than it was immediately prior to the pandemic, with 16,000 businesses closing since March 2020.

The first half of 2025 has seen an acceleration of hospitality closures, with an average of 62 bars, restaurants and pubs shutting down every month since January, thanks in part to a brutal rise in operational costs.

“These latest figures are a devastating blow, showing in the starkest terms the impact of Government-driven cost pressures,” said UKHospitality chair Kate Nicholls. “Two hospitality venues closing every day is not just a statistic; it represents the hollowing out of our high streets and communities.”

“The Government must lower the business rates that punish high street businesses, fix the poorly designed National Insurance Contributions that penalise job creation, and cut the rate of VAT to stimulate investment and align us with our European counterparts.”

…and then there’s the closures 

Data supplied by Meaningful Vision has found that the number of new UK hospitality openings increased by just 1 percent during the first half of this year, down on the 2.5 percent increases recorded during the same period last year.

The street and fast food sector was hit particularly hard by many firms lowering prices in a bid to stay ahead of competition, and though the number of promotional offers was up 50 percent on 2023, footfall still declined 1.3 percent.

“In 2023–24, the market was in recovery mode after the pandemic,” said Meaningful Vision CEO Maria Vanifatova. “As people returned to offices, we saw growth in breakfast and lunch trading, particularly in London and other major cities, with an emphasis on central business districts.”

“It now appears that this source of growth has run its course, with more consumers adopting flexible schedules or hybrid working patterns, which leads them to eat outside of traditional meal times.”