Hospitality sites steady in December 2024
Closures have however accelerated in Q4 2024.
Britain’s ‘licensed’ hospitality sector has a total of 99,120 outlets operating in December 2024, up slightly from 99,113 in December 2023, according to the Hospitality Market Monitor from CGA by NIQ and global consulting firm AlixPartners.
This marks a year of steady consolidation after the declines in 2022 and 2023, when the licensed sector shrank by 4.5% and 2.9%, respectively.
However, the year-on-year (YoY) comparison masks significant turnover in the hospitality sector, with many venues changing ownership and some group-owned units switching to new trading formats. In 2024, there were 4,078 closures and 4,085 openings, reflecting an average of 11 venues changing hands daily.
The report also revealed that closures accelerated in the final quarter of 2024 due to mounting cost pressures and changing consumer habits.
Site numbers contracted by 0.7% between October and December, equating to an average of just over 8 net closures per day, as cost pressures mounted and some consumers tightened their spending.
This last quarter contraction means 748 venues were lost over the period, and if this trend were to persist, the report noted that the annual net loss would be nearly 3,000 venues.
However, total drink-led sites have risen by 0.5%, whilst independently-run food-led sites have been particularly robust, with a growth of 1% in 2024 compared to a 3.2% drop in the number of food-led venues run by multi-site groups.
“The long-term confidence of leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors is solid, but January has already brought further closures of venues that clung on through Christmas," said Karl Chessell, director of hospitality operators and food, EMEA in CGA by NIQ. “With economic uncertainty lingering, many more hospitality venues remain extremely vulnerable.”
“The turnover of sites will continue too, we expect, as operators increasingly focus on core operations, close ancillary sites, and reassess opening pipelines,” said Graeme Smith, managing director at AlixPartners. “Restructuring and rescue deals will be an inevitable and necessary feature of this stage in the business cycle.”
