Pubs and Bars

The Pubs and Bars section on Catering Today covers the business developments, market trends, and operational challenges shaping the UK’s pub and bar sector. It reports on acquisitions, brand expansions, drinks innovation, and regulatory updates, alongside insights into staffing, sustainability, and consumer behaviour. With expert commentary and commercial analysis, Catering Today provides industry professionals with the intelligence needed to navigate a competitive and fast-evolving on-trade environment.

Feb- 2024 -

7 February

Liberation Group revenues hit £140m

Liberation Group, a privately owned premium pub operator and brewing group, has reported a “record” performance for the year ended 27 January 2024, as its total group revenues were up 22.5% to £140m versus the same period last year. With sites stretching from Mayfair in London to St Aubin in…
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6 February

Compass commits over £3m Apprenticeship Levy funding

Compass Group UK and Ireland has announced it has supported 250 apprentice programmes across 170 organisations, committing over £3m of its Apprenticeship Levy. These funds have helped small and medium-sized enterprises, charities and social enterprises to invest in and develop their staff. Large employers that pay the Apprenticeship Levy can…
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2 February

Urban Pubs & Bars EBITDA hits £6.4m in FY23

London’s premium pub and dining group Urban Pubs and Bars has announced group EBITDA of £6.4m for the financial year ended April 30, 2023, an improvement of 11% versus the prior year. The leisure group, which operates 42 pubs, bars and restaurants across London, revealed like-for-like sales were up 17%…
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1 February

Proper Pubs launches first mid-market pub concept

Proper Pubs, the community operator division of Admiral Taverns, has launched its very first mid-market pub concept with Ashby Tavern in Hinckley opening on Thursday 22nd February, following a £265,000 refurbishment. Proper Pubs has traditionally focussed on value wet-led sites, and whilst the new mid-market concept promises to maintain great…
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Jan- 2024 -

31 January

Admiral Taverns invests over £27m into community pubs

Admiral Taverns has announced that it invested over £27m to improve its community pubs in 2023. The group, which owns approximately 1,500 pubs across England, Scotland and Wales, has invested the funds into over 300 pubs across both its leased and tenanted estate and its community wet-led division, Proper Pubs.…
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31 January

Incipio Group revenues hit record £26.4m amid bumper Xmas

Incipio Group has reported that like-for-like sales rose 66% on the same period last year, contributing to a “record” year in sales of £26.4m after it experienced its strongest ever month of trading in December 2023. The company, which operates hospitality venues including Pergola on the Wharf, The Libertine and…
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30 January

Stonegate to reopen Red Cross Inn following 200k investment

Stonegate Group’s Red Cross Inn in Reigate is set to open its doors on 1 February following a £200,000 investment by the Craft Union Pub Company. The grade II listed building has received works inside and out. The venue features new fixtures and fittings, decorative “enhancements” and an outdoor area.…
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29 January

Brakspear acquires two sites from New Dawn Pubs

Pub operator Brakspear is expanding its leased and tenanted estate into Hampshire with the purchase of two pubs in the county from New Dawn Pubs. The Rose and Crown near Alton and The Royal Exchange near Bordon will join Brakspear’s 110-strong L&T estate. Both pubs benefit from “idyllic” village locations,…
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25 January

Northern hospitality venues welcome 7.2% sales growth in 2023

Hospitality vendors in the North have demonstrated growth and resilience over the past year, averaging 7.2% sales growth despite the cost of living crisis and escalating business rates. New research conducted by Northern Restaurant and Bar in partnership with CGA by NielsenIQ revealed all northern England cities saw a growth…
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24 January

Wetherspoons H1 sales rise 10.1%

Wetherspoons has revealed that like-for-like sales were 10.1% higher during the 25 weeks to 21 January compared with last year. The pub chain attributed its performance to bar sales rising by 11.8%, food by 7.9%, and slot and fruit machines by 10.4%. Hotel rooms in its pub estate also saw…
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