Overview

• The sector has been shuttering venues at a rate of two per day since Chancellor Reeves’s October Budget, with 1,122 pubs and restaurants closing through July according to CGA and AlixPartners data.
• Higher employer National Insurance contributions have added an estimated £1 billion to payroll costs while a 6.7 percent minimum wage rise has increased sector bills by around £1.9 billion.
• Licensed hospitality capacity now stands at 98,746 venues, marking a net loss of over 16,000 sites since before the Covid-19 pandemic and stoking fears of high street decline.
• Trade bodies warn that cash flow is perilously tight and are urging immediate relief in business rates along with a transition to profit-based levies to stem further closures.
• A government spokesperson says business confidence is at its highest in ten years and points to cuts in draught alcohol duty and new licensing reforms as support for the industry.