UK Hospitality Openings & Closures Index

As at 2026-07-12, the Companies House register shows 42,280 active companies with SIC code 56301 (public houses and bars) or 56302 (licensed clubs). This is the incorporated-business count: sole-trader and partnership pubs are not captured in Companies House data, so the true pub count across all business types is higher. The figure updates each quarter as new incorporations and dissolutions are filed.

As at 2026-07-15, the Companies House register shows 191,895 active companies with SIC code 56101 (licensed restaurants), 56102 (unlicensed restaurants and cafes) or 56103 (takeaway food shops and mobile food stands). This is the incorporated-business count: sole-trader and partnership restaurants and cafes are not captured in Companies House data, so the true count across all business types is higher. The figure updates each quarter as new incorporations and dissolutions are filed.

Net openings is incorporations minus dissolutions for the quarter. A positive number means more businesses registered than dissolved; negative means more dissolved than registered. Because dissolution filings lag actual closures by months, the rolling 4-quarter average (shown in the sub-trade tables below) gives a more stable signal.

SIC codes: 56101, 56102, 56103. 4Q avg = rolling 4-quarter average net openings.

SIC codes: 56210, 56290. 4Q avg = rolling 4-quarter average net openings.

SIC codes: 56301, 56302. 4Q avg = rolling 4-quarter average net openings.

SIC codes: 55100. 4Q avg = rolling 4-quarter average net openings.

SIC codes: 55201, 55209. 4Q avg = rolling 4-quarter average net openings.

Incorporations counted by incorporated_from/to date range per SIC code. Dissolutions counted by dissolved_from/to date range with company_status=dissolved. Each sub-trade aggregates one or more SIC codes. Rolling 4-quarter averages smooth the dissolution-lag effect (companies may cease trading months before formal strike-off). Counts reflect the state of the register at pull date.

Caveats

• Incorporated companies only: sole traders, partnerships, and unregistered businesses are not visible in Companies House data.
• SIC codes are self-reported by the filing company and may not precisely reflect the business's primary activity.
• Dissolution date is the formal strike-off date, which typically lags actual trading closure by several months to over a year.
• A single business may operate across multiple SIC codes; each company is counted under its primary registered SIC.

Source

Data from the Companies House Advanced Search API, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Pull date: 2026-07-12. Refreshed quarterly.

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