The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) chair announced earlier this month he would put £2,500 behind the bar of a Greater Manchester pub on bank holiday Sunday (3 May) to highlight the pressures faced by the hospitality sector and the rapid rate of pub closures.
Lord, who served as Greater Manchester’s night-time economy adviser from 2018 to 2025, asked his 60k Instagram followers to nominate a pub in the city.
The industry campaigner took to Instagram yesterday evening (Wednesday 29 May) to announce the Ape and Apple on John Dalton Street in Manchester City Centre would be the recipient of the bar tab.
Sharing the update in an Instagram story, Lord said: “This Sunday at 4pm I am going to be putting £2,500 behind the bar of a pub that I asked you to recommend and the one that came out top…which I am hearing really good things about, is the Ape and Apple.
Spreading cheer
“So that’s this Sunday, 4pm, I’ll be putting my card behind the bar, go and enjoy yourselves.”
A Joseph Holt pub, the Ape and Apple, located just off Deansgate, is run by husband-and-wife team Ryan and Megan.
The venue is known for its food offer, particularly its California-inspired smash burgers, and also hosts regular live music and comedy nights, as well as showing live sport.
Speaking in a video on Instagram to launch the campaign two weeks ago, Lord said pubs are under more pressure now than they were during the pandemic, particularly community pubs.
“My biggest concern is the loss of our community, pubs”, he continued. “This is where the elderly meet their friends. It’s where relationships are made. We talk to each other, we gossip, we talk about worries, we share things together.
“I don’t have a magic wand, and the Government are not listening to this sector. But what I do want to do is spread a little bit of cheer.”
Cost pressures
This comes as the number of licensed premises dropped by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest Hospitality Market Monitor from NIQ, powered by CGA intelligence.
At the end of March 2026, there were 98,609 outlets, 305 fewer than in December 2025, equating to an average of 3.4 net closures a day, the research showed.
Moreover, one pub a day closed last year, according to research from global tax firm Ryan, with more than 2,000 venues lost between 2020 and 2025.
In addition, the late-night sector has seen a third of nightclubs close since 2017, NTIA data shows.
Recent figures from Access Hospitality estimated operators were left with an average profit of just 13p on a pint of beer as rising taxes, wage costs, energy bills and soaring fuel costs continue to hammer the sector.
