Hospitality groups battle retail sales slump amidst consumer squeeze

Restaurants’ sales declined by 0.1%.

Britain’s leading hospitality groups’ like-for-like sales fell by 0.4% in April as consumers tightened their spending, according to an NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker report. 

Restaurants’ sales declined by 0.1% from its 2.5% growth in March, whilst pubs’ sales fell by 0.2%.

The report noted that this is the first negative month for pubs since the start of last year.

Meanwhile, the bar sector’s like-for-like sales dropped by 5.8%, making April the weakest month since October.

Recent bar closures from operators including Revolution and Brewdog have highlighted the heavy pressure on this sector at the moment.

However, total sales rose by 2.8% in during the month. However, this is down from recent months and remains below the country’s inflation rate throughout 2026.