Four hospitality sites closed every day in Q4 2025, research shows

Britain’s licensed hospitality sector was hit with 382 net closures – the equivalent of four site closures a day – in the final quarter of 2025.

 

The latest figures from Hospitality Market Monitor, produced by NIQ and CGA, revealed the sector had shrunk by 0.4% in the final three months of 2025, finishing the year with 98,914 sites at the end of December.

 

This represented an abrupt end to what analysts described as a resilient year for hospitality, as site numbers had actually risen by 0.2% in the first nine months of 2025.

 

Fourth-quarter losses were particularly high in the casual dining and restaurant segments, which recorded net declines of 1.8% and 1% respectively, amounting to 241 net closures in just three months – nearly 19 per week.

 

Across all food-led businesses, the number of sites fell by 0.8% between September and December.

 

Meanwhile, performance over the period for drinks-led businesses was slightly stronger, with numbers slipping by only 0.1%.

 

Bars also recorded quarter-on-quarter growth of 1%, with analysts suggesting consumers have been opting to drink out rather than eat out.

 

In terms of new openings across London, the tracker showed site numbers have increased by 0.6% over the course of 2025, though the capital is still 14% short of the pre-Covid benchmark of March 2020.

 

Karl Chessell, director, hospitality operators and food, EMEA at NIQ, said: “An acceleration in closures in the final quarter of 2025 shows the toll that relentless increases in operating costs are taking on hospitality. The dip is particularly concerning as it came during hospitality’s most important trading period of the year, when businesses usually build the cash reserves to get through the quieter start to the new year.

 

“Despite the government’s recent rethink on rates for pubs, conditions are unlikely to get any easier in 2026, and business confidence and sales growth both remain weak. Some hospitality groups and entrepreneurs continue to open sites, but without more support and an upswing in people’s spending, we are likely to see hundreds more permanent closures in the months ahead.”

 

It comes after the latest data from the Office for National Statistics showed that hospitality employed 8,784 fewer people in December 2025, compared to November 2025.
 
Photo: Wildwater.tv/Shutterstock