London pubs audit, 2022
July 2022
Notes on the data
The data in this note comes from the ONS Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), a list of UK businesses which is mainly compiled from administrative sources.
Note that businesses are classified by their primary trading activity only. At this level of detail there is a risk that some pubs and bars are classified under a related industry (e.g. hotels). This means that the numbers in this note could differ from those reported elsewhere, such as from the British Beer and Pubs Association or the Campaign for Real Ale.
The data is collected on March 12 of each year with 2021 being the latest year available. This means that it is not yet possible to see the full impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on pubs* in London.
The estimates for the number of pubs and employees have been rounded, and employee numbers are generally averaged across the year. Caution should therefore be taken when interpreting the data in this note, particularly year-on-year changes.
Summary of key points
Pub numbers have declined over the past twenty years in most London boroughs and in the capital overall, but employment has increased as the average pub has become larger.
Focusing on the years between 2016 and 2021, the number of pubs in London fell by around 60 or 2% – a lower rate of decline than for the UK as a whole (-4%).
The number of employees working in London’s pubs also increased by around 2,000 or 4% during this period – a higher rate of growth than for the UK overall (3%).
The full impact of the pandemic on pubs in London remains unclear. While the number of pubs decreased by 0.6% in London from March 2020 to March 2021, borough-level impacts were mixed.
Though 11 boroughs recorded a decrease in pub numbers, 7 boroughs recorded an increase and the rest saw no significant change.
Long-term trends in London
Despite a decline in small pubs, the sector remains a large employer
The number of pubs in London has been steadily falling over the past twenty years. While the number of pubs with fewer than 10 employees has halved from 3,400 in 2001 to 1,700 in 2021, the number of pubs with 10 or more employees has increased from 1,400 to 1,800.
As a result, the average size of London pubs has increased significantly over this period. The median number of employees in a London pub was around 6 in 2001. By 2015 this had increased to a median of 10, though it has stabilised since then.
The increase in size has meant that, despite the reduction in pub numbers, the number of employees working in London pubs has actually increased overall, from around 43,000 in 2001 to 48,000 in 2021.
Number of pubs
The number of smaller pubs (those with 1-9 employees) has declined in favour of larger pubs (with 10 or more employees). While 30% of all London pubs had 10 or more employees in 2001, this increased to 52% in 2021.
This is likely to reflect the UK-wide trend of pub enterprises increasingly employing more people serving food, as consumer habits shift toward spending more on food rather than drinks.
But while the number of pubs in London has decreased over the long term, the level has remained relatively stable between 2017 and 2021.
The number of pubs decreased slightly by 0.6% from 2020 to 2021, which suggests the onset of COVID-19 lockdowns did not have a significant impact in the short term. It is possible that the number of closures were minimised as a result of government support packages: at the pandemic peak, 91% of pub and bar staff were on furlough.
Source: IDBR, ONS.
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
Median number of employees
The median here is an average which measures the middle point in a range of pub sizes by employee count.
As larger pubs increasingly became more prominent in the industry, the median number of employees increased from around 6 in 2001-2008 to around 10 in 2015-2021. This coincides with UK-wide trends as pub chains have shifted their focus towards larger establishments over the past twenty years.
Source: IDBR, ONS.
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Median counts are rounded to nearest unit.
Number of employees
The total number of employees in London’s pub sector was 43,000 in 2001 before falling somewhat in the subsequent years, reaching lows of 39,000 in the years 2008, 2011 and 2012.
As pubs increased in size, the number of employees then peaked in 2020 before possibly falling slightly in 2021*. The 2021 figure was nevertheless still higher than in the years before 2020.
The share of employees working in larger pubs (with 10 or more employees) increased from 61% in 2001 to 85% in 2021.
Source: IDBR, ONS.
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
Comparison with the UK
Pub numbers declined nationally, but London saw higher employee growth
The number of pubs in the UK overall has decreased at a similar rate as in London. For the UK as a whole, pub numbers decreased by around 28% (-14,660) from 2001 to 2021 compared to the decrease in London of around 26% (-1,280).
However, London saw a higher rate of growth in employee numbers over this time. While the number of employees in London increased by around 14% (6,000) from 2001 to 2021, the figure only increased by 2% (11,000) in the UK as a whole.
Source: IDBR, ONS.
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
Changes by London borough
Most boroughs have seen a decline in pubs numbers over the longer term, but recent trends are more mixed
Long-term changes
Longer-term trends in the pub sector vary between different local authorities in London.
From 2001 to 2021:
Hackney was the only local authority to experience an increase in the number of pubs. The other 32 saw a decrease in pubs numbers.
The number of pubs in Hackney increased from 155 to 200 (+29%) during this time. The largest percentage decrease in pubs was in Newham, where the count decreased from 105 in 2001 to 45 in 2021 (-57%).
Over the same period, the number of employees working in pubs decreased in 13 London authorities, while it increased in 14 authorities.
Hackney also had the largest growth in pubs employees from 700 to 2,250 (+221%). Barking and Dagenham saw the largest percentage decrease in employees from 500 in 2001 to 225 in 2021 (-55%).
Source: IDBR, ONS.
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
Changes in 2016-2021
Over a shorter five-year period, trends at local authority level in London have been more mixed.
From 2016 to 2021:
23 local authorities saw a decrease in the number of pubs, while 8 saw an increase. The largest decrease was in Harrow (-27%) while the largest increase was in Hackney (+25%).
The number of employees decreased in 8 local authorities, while it increased in 13 local authorities. The largest decrease was in Barnet (-28%) while the largest increase was in Hounslow (+43%).
Source: IDBR, ONS.
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
Changes in 2020-2021
While the onset of lockdowns had a relatively small short-term impact on London pubs overall, some local authorities appear to have been affected more severely.
Keeping in mind that changes from year to year should be considered as approximate, from 2020 to 2021:
11 local authorities saw a decrease in the number of pubs, while 7 saw an increase. The largest decrease was in Harrow (-11%) while the largest increase was in Waltham Forest (+12%).
The number of employees decreased in 2 local authorities, while it increased in 7 local authorities. The largest decrease was in Westminster (-14%) while the largest increase was in Bexley (+25%).
Source: IDBR, ONS.
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
Mapping the pubs industry
Central local authorities have outperformed outer London boroughs
The maps below show how the number of pubs and pubs employees within local authorities in London has changed over the past twenty years.
The decrease in the number of pubs is particularly clear in some outer London boroughs. In the north east, for example, the combined number of pubs in Newham, Waltham Forest and Redbridge almost halved from around 260 in 2001 to around 135 in 2021.
In contrast, the number of employees working in pubs increased substantially in inner London boroughs such as Islington, Hackney and Southwark.
London in 2001
London in 2011
London in 2016
London in 2021
Pub counts at MSOA level
Pub numbers are increasingly concentrated in a few local areas
Pub counts are also available for middle layer super output areas (MSOA), which are subdivisions of local authorities. It’s worth noting that the number of pubs in many local areas is too small to be registered precisely at this level (white shading indicates areas where the count of pubs is betweeen 0-3).
Nevertheless, the decline in pubs numbers from 2001 to 2021 is visible as the map below appears increasingly empty over recent decades. The local authority-level picture is repeated here as pub numbers have been more stable (or even increased) in a few MSOAs in central London while many areas outside of central London have seen a decline.
Pub counts at the granular MSOA level are generally too low for precise estimates. For instance, an area with 2 pubs would be shown to have 0-3 pubs here.
MSOA 2001
Source: IDBR, ONS. Contains Ordnance Survey data Crown copyright and database rights [2015].
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
MSOA 2011
Source: IDBR, ONS. Contains Ordnance Survey data Crown copyright and database rights [2015].
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
MSOA 2016
Source: IDBR, ONS. Contains Ordnance Survey data Crown copyright and database rights [2015].
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
MSOA 2021
Source: IDBR, ONS. Contains Ordnance Survey data Crown copyright and database rights [2015].
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
Data tables
The tables below provide detailed breakdowns of the pubs data for each London local authority.
Pub counts
Source: IDBR, ONS.
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
Employee counts
Source: IDBR, ONS.
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.
Employee median
Source: IDBR, ONS.
Note: Data is recorded on March 12th of each year. Pub counts are rounded to nearest 5, employee counts to nearest range band.