While the challenges remain steep, recent data and industry moves suggest the ‘local’ is evolving rather than disappearing.
Headline figures
Data from CGA by NIQ shows that although the total number of pubs in the UK has fallen by more than 21% since 2012, the rate of closures has slowed markedly in the past year.
Community pubs posted a +0.76% year-on-year gain in 2025 compared with a 1.52% fall in 2024; high-street wet-led pubs increased by 3.87% after a 2.12% decline last year.
Wet-led pubs also out-performed restaurants and bars on sales in August 2025, recording 4% growth year-on-year, compared with restaurants down 2% and bars down 5%.
Younger age groups are part of the story: weekly visits to community pubs are growing, with Gen Z and Millennials driving renewed footfall, and pubs increasingly becoming the go-to for sport, after-work drinks and informal socialising - rather than only late-night outings.
‘Real resilience’
Admiral Taverns CEO Chris Jowsey highlights how the model remains under pressure but also offers opportunity: “Despite the challenges of recent years, our wet‐led community pubs continue to show real resilience. We’re seeing a renewed appreciation for local pubs as people choose to socialise closer to home to manage spend.
“While the overall number of wet-led pubs has fallen and margins have been squeezed by higher energy costs and food inflation, drink sales have remained notably stable - and typically carry higher margins than food due to lower wastage and staffing needs.
“As consumer habits continue to shift, wet-led pubs are constantly adapting and evolving to best suit the needs of their customers to ensure they can continue to serve their communities for years to come.”
Echoing that optimism, Craft Union MD Frazer Grimbleby said the wet-led model continues to prove its strength.
‘Renewed growth’
“We have recently seen renewed growth across our wet-led trade in the Craft Union estate with good like-for-like sales growth over the past six monthsm” Grimbleby told The Morning Advertiser (The MA).
“Since Covid, our business has continued to grow year after year, moving from 396 pubs in 2020 to 655 today in 2025. We expect to see further growth in the coming months and years as we continue to develop the business.
“We believe our focus on serving communities individually and locally has played an important role in our continued growth, alongside ensuring that each pub has a dedicated operating plan providing sport, entertainment and daytime activity that give customers great reasons to visit.
“We also ensure we continue to provide price value in our offer, which, alongside the right drinks range, ensures our customers visit regularly. We feel confident that wet-led pubs will continue to grow into the future, and we’re encouraged by the growth we see across all parts of the country.”
Diversification
While many independent wet-led pubs are sticking with the familiar model, some larger operators are diversifying the format to stay relevant.
One example is NEOS Hospitality (formerly Rekom UK). The group has rolled out its ‘party-pub’ brand Bonnie Rogues, described as a pub with added energy, live-music and the feel of a venue that transitions from day to night.
This kind of format shows how the operators are recognising that wet-led venues must offer more than a pint and a quiet space, they must cater for socialising, entertainment and flexibility of trading windows.
What it means
The picture isn’t one of traditional recovery, but adaptation. The fact that wet-led pubs are stabilising, and in some cases growing, points to a structural shift: local pubs that lean hard into their community role, emphasise drink profitability over food dependency, and adapt their trading patterns appear to be better placed.
However, the pressures remain acute. Cost inflation, high business rates, rising wage bills, and the shift in consumer behaviour away from late-night only formats continue to squeeze margins - especially for smaller, independent operators with fewer resources.
Looking ahead
For the sector to build on these signs of stabilisation, a few things matter:
- Continued investment in the drinking side of the business, rather than over-reliance on food footfall
- Flexibility in trading hours, programming and entertainment to attract younger socialising segments
- Strategic diversification where appropriate without losing the ‘local’ pub identity
- Support (regulatory or financial) to ease cost pressures for smaller community pubs
