Oxford Partnership and BevMetrics/Vianet data showed 28.2m pints were sold over the four-day bank holiday (22–25 May), up 11.5% year-on-year from 25.3m in 2025.
The figures equate to around 860 pints poured per pub, generating an average income of £4,449 per venue.
Average dwell time also increased by 10 minutes year-on-year to 154 minutes while occupancy levels reached 65.8% overall, suggesting consumers treated the extended weekend as a longer social occasion.
Strongest improvements
The strongest occupancy uplift came on bank holiday Monday, up 6 percentage points compared with last year, indicating consumers spread visits more evenly across the full weekend rather than concentrating activity solely around Saturday trading.
City centre venues remained the busiest at 70.6% occupancy, while rural venues recorded some of the strongest improvement, increasing by 3 percentage points year-on-year as consumers embraced more destination-led and leisure-driven occasions.
Drinks performance reflected the warmer conditions and changing consumer preferences, with cider proving to be the standout category, surging 42.7% year-on-year and significantly outperforming all other drinks categories.
World lager also saw strong growth, up 26.4%, while total lager increased 17.2%.
Elsewhere, premium lager (16.2%) and premium 4% (14.4%) continued to outperform, reinforcing ongoing consumer demand for premium and internationally recognised lager brands.
Significant opportunities
In contrast, ale volumes declined 8.8% year-on-year, while stout fell 16.4%, highlighting how warmer weather conditions shifted drinking behaviour away from heavier and more winter-oriented styles.
Oxford Partnership CEO Alison Jordan said: “The spring bank holiday provided a clear demonstration of how weather, social occasions and consumer behaviour are increasingly shaping on-trade performance.
“What is particularly notable is not simply the increase in volumes, but the strength of consumer engagement across the entire weekend.
“Consumers are continuing to prioritise longer, more social and experience-led occasions when they do choose to visit the on trade.
“That is creating significant opportunities for operators and suppliers that are aligned to those evolving drinking occasions and category preferences.”
