Tight consumer spending after festive celebrations led to a 0.1% drop in like-for-like sales at Britain’s top managed restaurant, pub and bar groups in January, according to the latest NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker.
The Tracker, produced by NIQ, powered by CGA intelligence, in association with RSM, highlights the challenging trading environment facing the sector in 2026.
A slow start to the year follows a flurry of spending in December, when sales rose 2.9% year-on-year, which may have left many consumers keeping a close lid on their outgoings in January.
Trading was also impacted by prolonged wet weather in many parts of the country, and by participation in ‘Dry January’.
The NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker reveals pub groups achieved marginal like-for-like sales growth of 0.4% in the first month of 2026. This was fractionally ahead of managed restaurant operators, where sales edged up 0.3%. It means pubs have outperformed restaurants every month since the start of 2025.
Among other channels, bars sustained a long run of negative numbers with sales slipping 4.9% behind the levels of January 2025. In the on-the-go segment, trading dropped 3.2%.
There was more encouraging news in the Tracker on a total sales basis. Adding in venues opened by hospitality groups in the last 12 months, growth rose to 3.1% – in line with the country’s rate of inflation in recent months. However, sharp increases in the costs of labour and other key inputs mean operators’ profit margins have been very tightly squeezed in recent months.
Other insights from the Tracker include a marginally better month for groups outside of London. Like-for-like sales nudged up 0.1% beyond the M25, but dropped 0.4% inside it.
Karl Chessell, director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA at NIQ, said, “January is always a tough month for hospitality, and many venues struggled for footfall as the post-Christmas pinch and rain kept many people at home.
“New openings and higher prices mean hospitality growth is just about keeping up with inflation, and businesses will be hoping that these latest figures represent a temporary pause on spending rather than the shape of things to come in 2026. However, with so many pressures on both sales and costs, it is likely to be another challenging year for the sector.”
Saxon Moseley, head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK, said, “The new year brought little respite for operators as the industry reported flat like-for-like results as low consumer confidence persisted into 2026, which was exacerbated by wet weather.
“With looming increases in business rates and national minimum wage, coupled with significant compliance costs associated with the new Employment Rights Act, the industry is in desperate need of growth. Recent efforts to stimulate demand through discounting might help in the short term, but with margins squeezed, a more sustainable recovery will be required to avoid further losses on the high street.”
