UK hospitality sales see strongest like-for-like growth of the year

British hospitality groups recorded their strongest month of like-for-like sales growth in 2026 during September. According to the NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker, sales at leading managed groups rose by 2.7% compared to September 2025, an acceleration from the 0.8% growth seen in August. This marks the fifth consecutive month of positive growth for the sector.

Performance varied across sub-sectors. Pub groups saw sales growth of 3.8%, outperforming inflation and marking their second-best month of the year. Managed restaurant groups also showed improvement with a 2.6% increase, their best performance since November 2024. Conversely, bar sales declined by 1.7%, though this represents the sector's best relative performance since the start of 2025.

While nominal sales are rising, the sector has not achieved real-terms growth since Spring 2025 as like-for-like figures remain below the UK inflation rate. Total sales, which include venues opened within the last 12 months, grew by 6.2% year-on-year. Data also indicated slightly softer trading in London, with growth of 2.3% within the M25 compared to 2.8% in other parts of Britain.