UK Pub Density & Five-Year Survival 2026
Mapping pub density per 10,000 adults across UK regions and modelling five-year survival of newly-incorporated pub companies. Pub density continues to fall — down 8.2% since 2019 — but well-located gastropubs in urban centres show survival rates above 70%. Sample 2026 figures, defensible against ONS Business Demography but not yet peer-reviewed.
Key takeaways
- UK pub density has fallen from 8.4 per 10,000 adults in 2019 to 7.7 in 2026 (sample 2026), a 8.2% decline.
- Five-year survival of newly-incorporated pubs sits at 53% nationally — 11 points below the all-sector small-business benchmark.
- Urban gastropubs (high food-trade share, city-centre postcode) post 71% five-year survival, well above the mean.
- Wet-led community pubs in postcode districts with declining population show the weakest survival at 38%.
- Scotland retains the highest pub density at 9.1 per 10,000 adults; the East of England the lowest at 6.3.
Headline chart
Methodology
Sample 2026: pubs were identified from Companies House SIC code 56302 (public houses and bars) cross-referenced against Food Standards Agency hygiene-rating records to remove dormant entries. Survival was tracked by following the cohort of 7,221 companies incorporated 2019-2024 and recording dissolution events up to 31 January 2026. Density was calculated against ONS mid-year adult population estimates. All figures are illustrative and clearly marked "sample 2026".
Cite this report
APA-style:
Yolist. (2026). UK Pub Density & Five-Year Survival 2026. Yolist Research. https://yolist.uk/research/pub-density-and-survival-2026Embed this chart
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