Consultancy firm RSM UK has analysed the latest company insolvency statistics, with February 2026 seeing a 22% month-on-month rise to 270 in terms of accommodation and food services insolvencies. This compared to the 222 insolvencies seen for hospitality in January of this year.
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New on-trade data for March 2026 from market intelligence company The Oxford Partnership shows improving average occupancy and dwell time year on year compared to March last year. In terms of the former this rose +1.1% to 65.4%, while the latter saw visit length rise +3.4% to 153 minutes.
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In the fight to stay in business in an increasingly competitive world, independents are focusing on the ‘local factor’. Oliver Catchpole reports.
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Fresh survey data from four leading hospitality trade bodies reveals that as a result of the government’s 1 April cost hikes 64% of on-trade businesses will cut jobs.
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Front-of-house was never my strong suit. I’d forget the daily specials, mix up orders and drop trays of glasses. I’m still haunted by the time I spilled an entire finger bowl of murky prawn water into a customer’s lap at the end of a meal. Safe to say his first date didn’t last long after that. I’ve always been in awe of people with the magic touch for hospitality – the servers and sommeliers who glide between tables intuiting the needs of their guests, able to multitask with ease and stay calm amid the carnage of a busy service. When I became a journalist it was a no-brainer what I would write about. Truth be told, the actual liquid has always come second for me. It’s the people behind the bottle – those who produce as well as pour it – that make for great stories. It’s those stories that keep me coming back.
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Front-of-house was never my strong suit. I’d forget the daily specials, mix up orders and drop trays of glasses. I’m still haunted by the time I spilled an entire finger bowl of murky prawn water into a customer’s lap at the end of a meal. Safe to say his first date didn’t last long after that. I’ve always been in awe of people with the magic touch for hospitality – the servers and sommeliers who glide between tables intuiting the needs of their guests, able to multitask with ease and stay calm amid the carnage of a busy service. When I became a journalist it was a no-brainer what I would write about. Truth be told, the actual liquid has always come second for me. It’s the people behind the bottle – those who produce as well as pour it – that make for great stories. It’s those stories that keep me coming back.
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Tennessee Whiskey brand Jack Daniel’s has announced a number of initiatives including an event for UK bartenders and a trip to the producer’s Lynchburg, Tennessee home.
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New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the UK showed no GDP growth in January 2026. During the month, ‘food and beverage activities’ fell a concerning 2.7%.
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Opening in March, this Ukrainian-founded cocktail bar describes itself as “method-driven”, with its signature technique – the loggerhead or flip-dog – involving plunging a 1200°C iron poker into its cocktails to caramelise sugars in the drinks, intensifying flavours and enhancing textures. Complementing these cocktails will be a seasonal sharing menu, inspired by both eastern Europe and Asia. In the heart of Old Street, the bar was designed by Kyiv-based YOD Group and is structured around two different levels – the first a 20-cover space on the ground floor, inspired by pop-up installations, and the second a quieter and “more refined” 80-seat lower level.
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Describing itself as “Friday markets in Cairo colliding with a Soho bar”, Impala is a charcoal grill restaurant which combines influences from Egypt to England. The debut restaurant from chef Meedu Saad, who previously worked as head chef at Kiln, the space – an “awkward 1960s building” – will be based around an open kitchen. The presence of an in-house butchery is also a standout feature. Food will be seasonal, with dishes collected from Saad’s formative cooking experiences. Meanwhile the wine list, run by Penny Vine and Martina Larnach, can be expected to be idiosyncratic and distinct, with back vintages of Italian alpine greats, and a project underway to import Bourgeois Dias – a zero-sulphite Champagne producer.
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Acclaimed British chef Sally Abé will open her first standalone restaurant at the end of this month, named after her favourite game bird. Recognised for her ‘robust’ approach to food – which is rooted in British cooking and a nostalgia for the classics – the menu will include dishes such as haunch of deer, pickled walnuts and cavolo nero and Cornish mussels, Jersey royals, cauliflower and sea kale. Co-owner Abe Drewery will curate the wine list, which will be continually changing, with limited cases refreshed throughout the season – focusing on Champagne (a favourite of Abé’s), along with rich Chardonnays and Bordeaux reds to complement her cooking.
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New independent Italian Vieni opens its doors at the Goodsyard in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter early this month, promising Nonna-inspired cooking from Agrigento in Sicily. Chef-founder Angelina Adamo, who has spent a decade working across various Michelin-starred restaurants and hotels, and manager Charlotte Carter will draw on generous regional cooking and Sicilian street food to recreate a taste beyond the popular Italian image of pizza and pasta. From lemon granitas to whole sea bass and chargrilled beef ribs, decadent cannoli and affogatos, the drinks menu naturally dips into Sicilian wines, with spritzes and Italian liqueurs also to the fore. With 40 covers in this light and airy development, Vieni should easily meet its brief of being the flagship hospitality venue at Goodsyard.
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A new report on the premium on-trade from Liberty Wines, released today (5 February) and shared exclusively with Harpers, suggests that the only way to drive sales is to compete on quality.
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The hospitality industry is well known for its tricky work-life balance. Whether it be long, demanding shifts, unpredictable and irregular hours or excessive workloads, the trade’s reputation is that its demands often eat into employees’ personal lives, impacting their mental and physical health.
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New consumer research from Zonal in partnership with NIQ has revealed that 69% of consumers believe that pubs, bars and restaurants play an important role in their communities.
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The hospitality industry has reacted to yesterday’s announcement by the government that pubs and music venues would receive a rates relief package costing £80m next year alone (as Harpers reported).
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The government has revealed a support package aimed at helping pubs and music venues in England, worth £80m.
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In today’s challenging economy, with all the difficulties UK hospitality is facing, it can feel like the drinks industry is being shaped more and more by our sector’s biggest players; the big boys of global industry with deep, deep pockets and reach. But let’s get it straight: the environment we’re currently in gives them a competitive edge. It helps them to win shelf space and bar listings – and that’s intimidating. I imagine if you’re a challenger brand or reasonably new to the market, you’re frustrated by the status quo.
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Hospitality charity The Drinks Trust has revealed a special edition of its “Face It Together” campaign – encouraging the drinks industry to extend its support to the Trust – launched for the company’s 140th anniversary.
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Premium on-trade distributor Enotria has announced the appointment of a new CEO, with Phillip White taking the helm.
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