Pubs strong and restaurants flat in mixed December for hospitality

Festive celebrations helped Britain’s managed pub groups to end 2025 on a high, the latest NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker reveals.

The Tracker—produced by NIQ, powered by CGA intelligence, in association with RSM—shows pubs’ like-for-like sales in December were 5.1% ahead of the same month in 2024. The growth is well ahead of the country’s recent rate of inflation and was powered by celebratory visits to pubs in the run-up to Christmas and New Year.

Consumers’ December spending was softer in managed restaurants, where like-for-like sales rose by just 0.8%. It means pubs comfortably outpaced restaurants for growth in every month of 2025. Managed bars faced an even more difficult festive season, with sales down by 1.7% year-on-year. However, these figures represent the best month of 2025 for both restaurants and bars.

With all channels combined, Britain’s managed hospitality groups achieved like-for-like growth of 2.9% in December. It the Tracker’s highest point since April, and only the second time it topped 1% in the whole of 2025.

The NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker provides a brighter picture of the sector on a total sales basis. When venues opened by groups in the last 12 months are factored in, growth rose to 6.2%—around twice the rate of inflation.

The Tracker’s breakdown of sales also shows a marginally better December for groups outside London. Like-for-like growth within the M25 stood at 2.8% but reached 3.0% beyond it.

Karl Chessell, director - hospitality operators and food, EMEA at NIQ, said: “December’s like-for-like growth was steady rather than spectacular, and it is unlikely to have been enough to offset the extra burden of costs imposed on hospitality over the course of 2025. More positively, a late flurry of celebratory drinking-out means many pub operators ended the year on a high and start the new year with valuable extra reserves. Strong total growth also shows groups remain optimistic enough about the long-term future to invest in new sites. However, with consumers’ spending still fragile and margins so tight, the trading environment is likely to remain challenging for some time to come.”

Saxon Moseley, head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK, said: “2025 was a difficult year for the sector and while these results are hardly earth shattering, they were the best like-for-like performance for restaurants and bars this year, offering operators a glimmer of hope for 2026. Pubs continue to trade strongly and are best placed to capitalise on growing consumer confidence as we start the new year. However, they are also contending with significant cost pressures which are disproportionately weighing on the sector, eroding profitability and in some cases accelerating closures. The industry is very much in need of some good news in 2026.”