Pubs toast festive growth over Christmas

Like-for-like sales for British pubs over the Christmas week increased by 4.8%, as guests turned to their local boozer to celebrate the season

The figure is well ahead of the rate of inflation, as well as most weeks in 2025, according to the NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker.

Across all hospitality channels, managed operators achieved modest like-for-like growth of 1.2% in the seven days from 22 December.

Meanwhile, the Hospitality Business Tracker, produced by NIQ, powered by CGA intelligence, in association with RSM, reported like-for-like sales at managed restaurants were 1.1% down over the same period.

This ended a difficult year for the restaurant sector following negative year-on-year growth in 10 of the first 11 months of 2025.

Bar groups were hit harder, with a 15.5% fall in like-for-like sales.

Karl Chessell, director of hospitality operators and food, EMEA at NIQ, said: “Pubs’ real-term growth in the week of Christmas shows how they remain a much-loved place for people to celebrate the festive season with families and friends.

“However, negative figures at restaurants and bars round out a very difficult year for many operators, and confidence is running low among consumers and business leaders alike. With cash reserves depleted and rates rises in the pipeline to add to a relentless burden of costs, the sector faces a challenging start to 2026.”

Saxon Moseley, head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK, added: “Festive trading mirrored the broader trends seen across 2025, with pubs reporting solid sales growth, while restaurants and bars saw revenue contract year-on-year, leaving little to celebrate for these beleaguered segments of the market. With results failing to live up to expectations for many operators and a raft of cost increases scheduled for 2026, there will be real concern of further casualties on the high street in the coming months.”

The sector is desperately calling on the government to review the business rate proposals announced in November’s Budget.

Hospitality operators were left bitterly disappointed by the Budget. The government had suggested that business rates was an area which may provide some relief from rising taxes, but despite the introduction of a £3.2b Transitional Relief scheme, the rates on most properties will still rise dramatically.

Yesterday, prime minister Keir Starmer reaffirmed that the government will consider further support for independent business owners struggling with rates.

The prime minister’s comments follow his admission in an interview with LBC earlier this week that pubs will struggle with business rates in the next round of revaluations and that the government was looking at licensing freedoms in an effort to support the sector.

The hospitality industry has criticised the Labour government for piling pressure on an already squeezed sector, with growing calls from pub landlords to bar Labour MPs from their establishments.