Decline in number of UK pubs to slow in 2018

Britain's declining pub numbers are set to slow this year with possible growth picking up within the next few years, new industry data indicates.

After 40 years of decline in the number of pubs across the country that has seen over 22,000 pubs close from 1980, the decrease will slow this year and continue until 2021, according to the UK Pub Market Report 2018 carried out by the MCA. The MCA said growth is set to start to pick up by 2023 as new openings will turn the scale positive.

There has been a resurgence in “wet-led” pubs, where drinks account for the majority of the sales rather than food, and is one of the causes of the reversal of pub fortunes and halting pub closures.

The report forecasts a 1% decline in the number of pubs in 2018 to almost 46,300 but says that the number of independent and managed pubs is growing.

Decline in the total number of pubs at the Top 10 pub groups is set to slow to -2.2% in 2018, from -3.0 in 2017

The report forecasts that the market will be worth £22.5bn in revenues, up 1.6%, ahead of the 1.5% growth predicted for the eating-out market, helped by growing demand for craft beers and spirits.