Annual pub closure rates double from 2020 amid surging costs

The number of pub and bar firms collapsing into insolvency rose 2.6% year-on-year to 789 in 2025, according to research from accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.

The overall number of closures was spurred by a 33% spike in pub businesses collapsing across Scotland – and is double the number of total closures in 2020, which stood at 367.

The amount of pub and bar business insolvencies across England and Wales climbed to 736 last year, up from 729 the previous year.

UHY Hacker Young partner Peter Kubik said: “Pubs and bars are firefighting on several fronts and with the exception of Covid-19 and 2024, insolvencies have risen every year over the past decade. I would not be surprised to see more.

“Pub groups will be worried how war in the Gulf is going to impact their energy prices. The government will be giving pubs a 15% discount on pubs and bar groups’ business rates bills from April, but it simply is not enough when you look at the costs and burdens they face. It is like giving someone facing a tidal wave in a small boat a bucket.”

Closures across hospitality hit four a day at the end of 2025, and UKHospitality has warned they are set to accelerate to as many as six a day in 2026 as businesses struggle to shoulder an avalanche of rising costs across business rates, National Insurance Contributions and rising energy bills.

You can see the businesses which have attributed surging operational costs and taxes to their closures in The Caterer’s closure tracker here.