UK Now Has More Restaurants Than Pubs, as One in Six Pubs Has Closed Since 2010
The UK now has more licensed restaurants than pubs, according to new analysis of official figures by Homefords, a wholesale supplier of soft furnishings to pubs, restaurants and hotels.
There were 38,735 licensed restaurants in March 2026 against 37,350 pubs and bars, according to the Office for National Statistics. It is the first time restaurants have come out ahead in figures going back to 2010. Pubs were ahead in every earlier year.
The UK has lost 7,330 pubs since 2010, about one in six. Pub numbers fell in 14 of the last 16 years, while restaurant numbers grew by more than a third.
"Pubs have been closing for years, so the decline isn't the surprise," says Steven Forester, Sales Manager at Homefords. "The surprise is that restaurants have finally overtaken them. People used to drop into the pub on the way home. Now a night out is something they plan and book, and when they do, they tend to choose somewhere to eat."
Restaurants already outnumber pubs in London and Scotland, and this year they overtook pubs in the South East for the first time. In the East of England the two are now almost exactly level.
"Losing 7,330 pubs in 16 years is a clear-out of the British high street, and it's been allowed to happen one closure at a time," says Forester. "Most of the pubs that have gone were small independents. They didn't close because people stopped wanting them. They were squeezed by tax, rates and rising costs until the numbers stopped adding up. Once a pub becomes flats, it's gone for good, and no rates discount will bring it back."
Wales has lost more than a quarter of its pubs since 2010, the steepest fall of any part of the UK. Since 2019, Scotland has lost pubs faster than anywhere else. Pubs in England have been promised a 20% business rates cut from next April, but the English measures don't cover Scotland or Wales.
London is the exception. It is the only region with more pubs now than before the pandemic, up 2% since 2019, and nearly a third of the UK's new restaurants since 2019 opened there.
"London is the proof that pub closures aren't inevitable," says Forester. "Give pubs real protection in planning and get enough people through the door, and they survive."
Notes to editors
Source: ONS UK Business Counts (Inter-Departmental Business Register) via Nomis, released 24 September 2026. Counts are business sites in March of each year from 2010 to 2026, rounded to the nearest 5. Pubs and bars are SIC 56302 and licensed restaurants are SIC 56101. Open Government Licence v3.0.
Figures are available for each UK region and nation, not for towns or cities.
The full study, with figures for every region and an Excel download of every year: https://homefords.co.uk/restaurants-outnumber-pubs/
Further analysis:
Pubs lost since 2010: https://homefords.co.uk/uk-pubs-lost-since-2010/
Scotland and Wales: https://homefords.co.uk/pub-closures-scotland-wales/
Where restaurants are growing fastest: https://homefords.co.uk/fastest-growing-locations-for-restaurants/
Please credit "Homefords analysis of ONS UK Business Counts, 2026" and link to the study.
About Homefords
Homefords is a UK wholesale supplier of soft furnishings to pubs, restaurants, hotels, holiday lets, camping and caravan sites. There's no minimum order and no trade account needed. https://homefords.co.uk/
For further information please contact Rob Truslove via rob@wearewrise.co.uk.
Third-party news items are published as received for informational purposes. Publication does not imply endorsement by the Guild. Please use the contact details within the post for any enquiries.
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