Signs of a pub revival offer a ray of sunshine in cloudy hospitality

Business confidence is subdued in the UK’s hospitality sector as we head into the crucial summer season. 

This is hardly surprising. A higher tax burden, particularly the increase in NICs that came into effect in April, has taken its toll - 70% of hospitality businesses are cutting staff or hours as a result, according to the industry’s trade body, UKHospitality. It says the sector has lost almost 69,000 workers since last autumn. 

Uncertainty around America’s tariffs is also sapping confidence. And businesses have a cautious eye to the Autumn Budget, when chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to lift taxes after the government’s welfare bill U-turn. 

Meanwhile, tourist taxes are becoming increasingly common, for instance July’s approval of a new levy on overnight visitors in Wales. Such additional charges raise fears about a knock-on impact on businesses dependent on the tourist trade.

So, amid these headwinds, a bumper summer season is more important than ever. As always, the hospitality sector is at least partly at the mercy of the unpredictable British weather, which makes business planning challenging. 

We do, however, see some signs of cautious optimism in what might seem an unlikely corner of the industry, given warnings of their imminent decline in recent years: pubs. 

For many years, there has been little good news for pubs. We’ve all seen pubs close down in our local communities. Even now, pubs remain under huge pressure and many will still close. But there is also a growing sense that many of the pubs that have survived the last few years have done so as they have adapted and shown their resilience. In fact, pub sector turnover is forecast to hit 2% growth next year for the first time since the pandemic, according to stats from Lumina. 

This may come at least partly at the expense of restaurants. While there are exceptions, pubs can often outmatch restaurants when it comes to the sense of community they offer. A visit to a pub is likely to be cheaper. They tend to offer a wider selection of foods than restaurants, as they aren’t constrained to one type of cuisine. The benefits in warmer weather of a pub garden can’t be underestimated either. 

Wet-led pubs – those that take most of their revenue from drinks – are at the forefront of this tentative change in fortunes. After years of market dominance from gastro pubs, it is perhaps the turn of the drinkers’ pub.

To succeed, such pubs are increasingly looking to provide fun experiences and entertainment. This needn’t mean reinventing the wheel or making a huge investment. Darts, for instance, is making a big come-back, partly thanks to the Luke Littler effect. The hospitality group behind Flight Club, which runs venues built around darts games, has said it plans to open another 45 venues over the next five years. 

Pubs run under more traditional brands are also re-inventing themselves. Operator Marston’s is renovating some pubs to create distinct zones within a single venue. This allows them to cater to a wider range of customers and occasions. In another example, a recently renovated Greene King flagship drinking hole in London has a bar on the first floor known as ‘The Office’ playing live sports and offering two digital darts lanes; downstairs there is a private room for meeting hire.

Other pub operators have found different ways to buck the trend of poor pub performance. Loungers stands out for its locations: its sites are usually on secondary suburban high streets or in small town centres. The group also benefits from its all-day food offering and flexible menu.

Offering live sports broadcasts remains one of the big draws for many drinkers’ pubs. This summer’s sporting line-up may not match 2024 for sheer viewer numbers, which included the men’s Euros and the Paris Olympics. But amid growing viewer numbers for women’s football, the women’s Euro 2025 championships could still deliver a meaningful summer bounce. 

More niche sports are helping out too. I’ve mentioned darts already, but perhaps a more unlikely pub sport is chess. It’s not uncommon now to see people moving pieces around a checkered board in the corner of a pub. One independent pub group in London has partnered with a community-led initiative called Say it With Your Chess, to make chess more accessible and inclusive.

The introduction of such experiential efforts shows how pubs are trying to attract a younger generation who are looking for something more to do than just sit drinking and chatting.

At the same time, cost savings are still essential for pubs. Here, we’re also seeing innovation. For instance, through the roll-out of QR codes on tables so a member of the serving staff is freed up elsewhere. Some pubs have even taken this a step further, and a small number are offering self-service drinks machines. 

Whether such moves stick is yet to be seen. But it’s just another way that pubs are trying new things to cut costs, win over customers and ultimately secure their future. At a time of great uncertainty for the wider hospitality industry, forward-thinking pubs are showing what can be achieved.