Going to pubs, bars or nightclubs in free time in England 2017/18, by age

More than half of all English residents between the ages of 16 and 64 visited pubs, bars or clubs as a free-time activity during 2017/18. Those aged 25 to 44 were the most likely to attend a pub, bar or club, with 59.3 percent of respondents in that age category visiting such an establishment.

Are pubs disappearing?

Despite most of the adult population under the age of 64 visiting pubs, bars and clubs, the frequency with which people are visiting their favorite pub is on the decline. While 33 percent of consumers reported visiting the pub on a weekly basis in 2010, this figure dropped to 29 percent by 2017. Over the same period of time, the United Kingdom saw a net reduction of approximately 7,050 in the number of pubs in operation.  

New trends continue to attract pub goers

Although there are fewer venues, the nation’s pub culture has undergone somewhat of a transformation. The popularity of pubs for dining out has resulted in many businesses increasing their food offering and capitalizing on new drinking trends such as craft and non-alcoholic beers. Independent pubs, although with a seemingly greater risk of closure, have in fact increased in number: around 4,550 more independently owned pubs were in operation in the UK in 2017 compared to ten years earlier.

This may be due in part to the emergence of micro-breweries, and consumers preferring to visit traditional pubs or other independents which can cater to the niche tastes the micro-brewery allows, rather than the larger pub chains. Independently owned pubs continue to account for the largest proportion of pubs in the UK, the rest being managed, tenanted or leased by a brewer or pub company.