Closure
In this section, we report on restaurant, pub, bar, café, and catering business closures across the UK, and the commercial, operational, and market factors behind them. From high-street exits and group-wide restructures to insolvencies, lease surrenders, and strategic site rationalisations, we cover the real-world impacts of rising costs, labour shortages, shifting demand, and margin pressures. We go beyond headlines to explain why closures are happening and what they mean for the wider sector. Whether you’re benchmarking performance or navigating tough decisions, we provide the context hospitality professionals need to stay informed.
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May- 2021 -12 MayTrade Associations
UKH slams gov hospitality plans in Queen’s Speech
UKHospitality (UKH) has criticised the government’s plans to introduce legislation aimed at tackling obesity, which it believes is detrimental to the sector’s recovery. The trade association is specifically taking aim at plans to introduce calorie counts in restaurant, cafe and bar menus, which were outlined in the Queen’s Speech. Proposed…
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11 MayPubs and Bars
The City Pub Group swings to £5.1m FY20 loss
The City Pub Group swung to an adjusted before tax loss of £5.1m for FY20, down from a £5.3m profit in FY19. The group attributed its 57% year-on-year decline in revenues to £25.8m for the 12 months ended 27 December 2020 to “lengthy closure periods”. However, since the return to…
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10 MayFood and Drink
Greggs sales recover to near pre-pandemic levels
Greggs saw its two-year like-for-like (LFL) sales close the gap to just a 3.9% decline for the eight weeks to 8 May. It follows a 13.5% fall in LFL sales for the 18 weeks to 8 May when compared to FY19, as the group also showed signs of recovery following…
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5 MayFood and Drink
330,000 jobs could be lost if rental issues remain unsolved, says UKH
Over 330,000 sector jobs are at risk if the £2.5bn rent debt issue is not resolved, according to new analysis by UKHospitality (UKH). A new survey of UKH members found that resolving the rent debt issue is “critical” to ensuring the future health of a sector that prior to the…
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4 MayCoronavirus
High Court rules against Sasha Lord in hospitality reopening case
The High Court has rejected Sacha Lord and Hugh Osmond’s bid to challenge the Government’s indoor hospitality reopening stall. The case had been set in motion by Lord, Manchester’s night-time economy advisor, and Osmond, founder of Punch Taverns, who argued that a lack of scientific evidence had been provided to…
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4 MayCoronavirus
UKH calls for ‘decisive’ government action on rent debt
UKHospitality has written to the government urging it to adopt its proposals to help tackle the £2.5bn rent debt crisis that “threatens to wreck the hospitality sector’s recovery and risks further widespread job losses”. For more than a year, the trade association has been highlighting the threat that rent debt…
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Apr- 2021 -15 AprilGovernment
Gov set to consult on mandatory calorie labelling of alcohol
The government is reportedly set to launch a consultation into the mandatory calorie labelling of alcoholic beverages. According to a report in The Sun, the government is drawing up plans to require pub chains with more than 250 staff to display calorie information on menus or pump labels. Following a…
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6 AprilGovernment
Matt Hancock called to High Court to explain pub closure reasoning
Health secretary Matt Hancock has been called to give evidence at the High Court following a legal case brought forward by Manchester’s night-time economy adviser, Sacha Lord. The summons follow former Pizza Express boss Hugh Osmond and club operator Lord’s decision to launch a legal challenge which suggests the government…
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1 AprilGovernment
Treasury Committee launches inquiry into job recovery post-Covid
The Treasury Committee has announced it has launched an inquiry into job, growth and productivity recovery after the pandemic. The cross-party group of MPs will examine how the government can reduce and mitigate the economic damage and job losses resulting from the pandemic. Mel Stride MP, chair of the Treasury…
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Mar- 2021 -26 MarchFeatures
One year since lockdown: a year in the life of UK pubs
One of the greatest cultural tragedies of the past year in the UK has been the closure of pubs due to the pandemic. According to CGA’s Market Recovery Monitor, nearly 12,000 licensed premises have closed in Britain since December 2019; an average of 30 a day. To mark the anniversary…
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