Much has been written recently about the troubles facing the UK’s night time economy, from the declining music scene, to the loss of clubs, to the immense pressure pubs are under with high energy prices.

But to what extent is the UK’s nightlife really on the wane? And where should someone head for a decent night out?

A night time economy that’s waning or evolving?

Certainly the data on pubs, bars and clubs – often seen as core components of the night time economy – paint a bleak picture. The official Interdepartmental Business Register suggests that the number of pubs & bars in the UK has fallen by 10% while the number of licensed clubs has declined by 28% over the past decade. In total this represents a decline of about 7,000 establishments across the country.

Number of establishments in the UK

Source: Public First analysis of the Interdepartmental Business Register

And a reversal anytime soon seems improbable. The drivers of pub and club closures are likely to be numerous: squeezed household incomes since the global financial crisis and during the current energy & food price crisis, cost pressures on pubs and clubs and, perhaps most challenging for the sector in the long-term, changing consumer preferences. 

In particular, drinking is falling out of favour, particularly among younger age groups. According to the ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, the share of 16-24 year olds saying they had drank alcohol in the last week fell from 60% in 2005 to 48% in 2017, while for 25-44 year olds there was a decline from 68% to 54%. 

Some of this might reflect the pinch on incomes for these age groups in an age of high rents and house prices, but it is also likely to reflect choice, for example due to health consciousness or cultural and religious beliefs. In 2017,  just under a quarter (23%) of 16-24 year olds identified as teetotal, up from 19% in 2005. For 25-44 year olds, the share of non-drinkers increased from about one in seven (15%) to one in five (21%).

Proportion of Brits who drank alcohol in the last week, by age group (%)

Source: Public First analysis of ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey

Given these changing consumer preferences, perhaps it’s wrong to gauge the vibrancy of Britain’s nightlife on the number of pubs and clubs alone. Certainly, other businesses typically open in the evening seem to be faring far better. 

As the first chart in this article shows, the number of licensed restaurants in the UK has increased sharply by 30% over the past decade, amounting to about 8,700 new establishments. Indeed, the number of licensed restaurants is on course to overtake the number of pubs & bars this year. Perhaps, rather than dying, Britain’s night time economy is evolving to one that is more food- than drink-oriented. 

Stark regional differences in nightlife vibrancy

Even if the night time economy is evolving in places, the picture is unlikely to be uniform across the country. In many towns and cities nightlife is genuinely struggling, even when we account for the rise of restaurants in place of pubs, bars and clubs. 

To quantify nightlife vibrancy across the country, and establish where is evolving and where is struggling, we have constructed the Night Out Index. This captures the number of licensed restaurants, pubs, bars and clubs per 10,000 people living across major towns and cities in England and Wales – that is, it measures the “density” of nightlife businesses relative to population size.  Note that our England and Wales focus here reflects data limitations (the ONS “major towns and cities” geographical classification only captures these countries of the UK). 

The index ranges from a score of 24.6 in Brighton – which points to the best night out of any place captured in our index – to just 4.4 in Slough, which languishes at the bottom of the index. 

The index findings are captured in the interactive map below. Click on the towns and cities that are circled for more information on how many pubs & bars, clubs and licensed restaurants they have. 

Public First Night Out Index, 2022

Interestingly, the Night Out Index suggests that regional variations in nightlife vibrancy are more nuanced than a simplistic North-South divide, or even a rich area-poor area divide. Towns around London, such as Bracknell and High Wycombe, score relatively poorly on the Index, while places in the North such as Wakefield and Halifax score relatively well. The UK’s second city by population, Birmingham, comes out poorly in the Index, with both the city itself and several towns surrounding it having relatively low Night Out Index scores.

Beyond the traditional British night out: from ice cream parlours to shisha bars

One caveat with our Night Out Index is its focus on licensed establishments as a measure of the strength of the night time economy, despite us noting earlier the rise of non-drinking. This reflects data limitations, which make it difficult to unpick which unlicensed premises are open in the evening rather than just during daytime (e.g. coffee shops) While harder to tease out of the data, some parts of the country may also be benefitting from a rise in unlicensed evening establishments catering to changing consumer demands. Take, for example, the growth in late night dessert parlours or, according to Freedom of Information requests, the more than 500% increase in the number of shisha bars in the UK since the mid 2000s. Research from 2018 suggested Manchester has 60 registered shisha cafes, whilst Birmingham has seen the number of such establishments increase from just three in 2007 to over 30. 

Northern towns and cities have seen some of the biggest improvement in nightlife

When we look at the change in Night Out Index score over the decade between 2012 and 2022, Leeds, Liverpool and Halifax lead the way with a circa 20% increase in the per capita number of night time establishments. Meanwhile, Rochdale, Mansfield and Dudley have seen the biggest declines in the Night Out Index over this time period (-29.3%, -28.3% and -27.8% respectively). 

Just under half (46%) of major towns and cities in England and Wales have seen an improvement in nightlife over the past decade, as measured by the Night Out Index, while the remainder (54%) have seen a deterioration.

Change in Night Out Index – 2012-2022 

Night czars and changing fortunes within cities

In a bid to strengthen the night time economy, both London and Manchester have appointed “night czars”. Amy Lamé, who has served as London’s Night Czar since 2016, is meant to be putting “the Mayor’s Vision for London as a 24-hour city into action”. 2018 saw Sacha Lord unveiled as Greater Manchester’s first-ever night-time economy adviser, supported by a night-time economy panel which will “develop, discuss and deliver plans to develop the city-region’s nightlife, making it stronger, safer, better-connected, and an even more attractive destination”. The West Midlands Combined Authority is appointing a Night Time Economy Advisor this year. 

The verdict is still out on how successful these new roles and responsibilities will prove in terms of improving the fortunes of the night time economy. There is certainly some skepticism; Amy Lamé came under pressure recently as her pay packet increased by 40% amid club closures in London. 

And the challenge in these larger geographies is to manage the varying fortunes within them. While trendy Hackney’s night life has boomed over the past decade – with the Night Out Index for London borough increasing by 76% between 2012 and 2022, the City of London has seen the biggest fall (-16%). The City has been particularly exposed to the rise in hybrid and remote working since the coronavirus pandemic, which has seriously dented footfall in the area on Fridays. 

Change in Public First Night Out Index for London boroughs, 2012-2022 

Can we really measure the quality of a night out in different parts of the country?

Our analysis has focused on the number of late night establishments in different parts of the country, using official Interdepartmental Business Register data. But there are undoubtedly other factors that feed into the quality and vibrancy of the night time economy: for example, how affordable a night out is in terms of prices charged and local incomes, the quality of the late night establishments and crime rates in an area. For some, many more restaurants in an area will be no compensation for the loss of a culturally important music venue. 

Another factor that has drawn attention recently has been opening hours, and the perception that pubs and bars in cities such as London are closing earlier than they were prior to the pandemic. Building up a comprehensive database of how pub closing times have changed would be time consuming, but the Public First team seem in agreement that  it is happening based on their own experiences. A look at opening times on archives of pub websites also seems to bear this out: for example,  the Westminster Arms – a watering hole close to Public First HQ and the Houses of Parliament – is now opening later, closing earlier on Mondays and Tuesdays, and no longer open at all on Sundays.

Westminster Arms opening times in 2018 (left) and 2023 (right).

This blog is not the place to unpick all of these issues, but they warrant attention and further research. 

Where next for the nighttime economy?

In the eyes of much of the public, nightlife matters. For many it feeds into wider perceptions of how the places in which they live are faring – along with factors such as the number of empty shops on the High Street. 

Much like discussions about the future of the High Street, there is a risk that the policy debate on the night time economy focuses on trying to achieve a past ideal – for example taking us back to the number of pubs that a town or city historically had. Much as that would be agreeable in the eyes of many (author of this piece included!), it may not be feasible given the fundamental changes in how a growing share of the British public likes to spend its evenings. Fewer of us drink than in the past. And there are now more alternatives to traditional evening activities, from escape rooms to dessert parlours to greater options for home entertainment with the rise of streaming services. 

Much as we need to reimagine high streets for an age in which people increasingly shop online rather than in store, local night time economies need to evolve to reflect changing consumer tastes.

Want to discuss this more?

Get in touch with the Public First team:

Scott Corfe, Director (Data & Modelling). scott.corfe@publicfirst.co.uk

Mike Crowhurst, Director and Head of Public First’s Levelling Up practice. mike.crowhurst@publicfirst.co.uk

Ed Dorrell, Partner at Public First  ed.dorrell@publicfirst.co.uk