One in seven sites close in City of London

The City of London has seen a 14% net decline of licensed premises since March 2020.

The City of London has seen a net decline of one in seven (14%) licensed premises since March 2020, according to new research. 

The recent Market Recovery Monitor from CGA by NielsenIQ and AlixPartners reveals how pub, bar and restaurant closures have been particularly high in parts of central London that are dependent on office workers and both foreign and domestic tourism.

The 14% decline in The City is a steeper decline than London as a whole, which saw a 10.5% loss between March 2020 and June 2022. The northern and eastern regions of London now have 8% and 9.1% fewer licensed premises than they did in March 2020. In some boroughs, like Haringey and Barking & Dagenham, the net change is less than 5%.

In these areas, people who previously commuted into central London instead worked at home during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, shifting to a new hybrid working culture and increasingly using their local pubs, bars and restaurants rather than travelling further afield.

Nearly all other major city centres have seen less severe net declines than The City since Covid-19 began, including Manchester (-4.5%), Edinburgh (-5.3%), Glasgow (-10%) and Liverpool (-1.3%). Only Birmingham’s city centre (-14%) has seen as many closures as The City of London.

The venue losses in The City are also greater than in most provincial city centres, highlighting the particular challenges central London has experienced.


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