Nightclub closures leave 26% of UK towns without venues

More than a quarter (26%) of towns and cities in the UK have lost all their nightclubs since 2020, according to new figures from the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA).

The trade body said 26% of areas that had at least one nightclub before the pandemic no longer have any, while 16% have lost all late-night venues entirely. A further 2% have seen the closure of every venue in the wider evening economy, including restaurants, pubs and cultural spaces.

The data, compiled by research group CGA by NIQ, showed that the late-night sector has shrunk by 26.4% since March 2020. By comparison, the wider evening economy has declined by 8.1%.

Michael Kill, chief executive of the NTIA, said: “This is not just a hospitality issue – it’s a cultural crisis. Nightclubs and late-night venues are cultural institutions, economic engines, and cornerstones of community life. Losing them removes vital social and cultural spaces from our towns and cities.”

The NTIA warned that rising operational costs, including increases in minimum wage and National Insurance, have hit independent operators particularly hard. Larger managed groups have seen modest growth, but independents continue to close at a faster rate.

In some towns, the trade body said, the disappearance of late-night venues has “erased evening social life entirely”. Former hubs of community and creativity, it argued, have vanished from local culture.

The decline comes despite previous calls for action from the government. In 2022, then culture secretary Lisa Nandy said: “Every town has lost a nightclub that they feel very strongly about.”

The NTIA is urging ministers to support the sector by cutting VAT for hospitality businesses, reinstating previous National Insurance thresholds for employers, and reforming business rates.

Kill added: “The time to act is now. We must prevent the permanent loss of nightlife before these gaps in our towns and cities become irreversible.”