More than one in four late-night venues have shut their doors since 2020, figures show, prompting lobbyists to warn that the UK faces a worrying rise in “night-time deserts” without urgent tax cuts.
Nearly 800 late-night businesses have been forced to close over the past five years, according to the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), representing a 26.4% contraction in the late-night sector overall. That compares with a 14.2% contraction across the wider hospitality sector.
Closures have accelerated this year, with three venues shutting each week on a net basis over the past three months, the NTIA said, leaving only 2,424 late-night venues operating across the UK.
“We’re witnessing the loss of important social infrastructure from our towns and cities,” said the NTIA’s chief executive, Michael Kill. “Nightclubs and late-night venues are more than just places to dance – they’re cultural institutions, economic engines and cornerstones of community life.”
Kill said it was a “deeply worrying” trend that ultimately threatened burgeoning artists and the wider cultural sector. “Small venues nurture new talent, fuelling the success of globally renowned artists and the creative economy. You don’t get Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa or Oasis without small venues. The collapse of independent venues puts the entire night-time economy at risk.”
The closures at late-night venues feeds into a decline across the broader hospitality sector, with the industry having lost 89,000 jobs since the government’s autumn budget last year, according to the trade body HospitalityUK. The group said it confirmed the sector was hardest hit by the government’s tax increases.
New figures also show a recent dip in the UK’s overall job market, with vacancies and salaries both falling and entry-level jobs hitting a five-year low, according to the jobs website Adzuna.
The NTIA – which represents 10,000 businesses including two thirds of the UK’s nightclubs – is calling on the government to cut VAT, reverse the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions, and maintain business rates relief for the night-time sector until “fair reform of the rates system is implemented”.
after newsletter promotion
“We must stop the silent slide into night-time deserts before the damage becomes irreversible,” Kill said.