Hospitality sales fall 1% in May amid poor weather

Sales across Britain’s managed hospitality groups fell by 1% year-on-year in May, according to the latest CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker.

The decline follows 4.2% growth in April and reflects the impact of wet and cool weather during both of May’s Bank Holiday weekends. The tracker shows that sales have been negative in three of the first five months of 2025.

Pubs outperformed other segments for the sixth consecutive month, with sales up 0.5% year-on-year. However, restaurant sales dropped by 2.5%, bars were down 5.1%, and the on-the-go segment fell 2.5%.

Sales performance was also geographically uneven. Groups operating outside the M25 recorded a year-on-year drop of just 0.4%, while those inside the capital saw a 2.3% decline.

Total sales, including those from venues opened in the past year, were up 1.6% against May 2024. However, this remains below the pace of inflation as measured by the Consumer Prices Index.

Karl Chessell, director for hospitality operators and food of EMEA at CGA by NIQ, said: “May’s tracker numbers extend the pattern of a reasonable 2025 for pub operators but a challenging one for restaurants and bars. They are particularly concerning in the context of major increases in staff costs from April, and the chancellor’s recent spending review brought little to reduce the heavy burden on hospitality businesses.

“Groups will be hoping for better weather to loosen consumers’ spending in the crucial Summer months, but the trading environment is going to remain very challenging for the foreseeable future.”

Saxon Moseley, head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK, added: “Fragile consumer confidence continues to weigh on the hospitality industry with another month of negative like-for-like sales undoing much of the positive sentiment from April’s encouraging results.

“With cost pressures showing no signs of reducing, the situation is increasingly desperate for some. Given this combination of sluggish discretionary spending and high costs, we are seeing a number of operators actively looking to expand internationally where trading conditions are more favourable. Unless these challenges ease over the summer, this could lead to less domestic investment and longer term stagnation for the UK high street.”