NTIA – ‘unprecedented crisis’ as rate of nightclub closures accelerates over past six months: The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has said the night-time economy is facing an “unprecedented crisis” with the rate of nightclub closures accelerating over the past six months. The latest statistics from CGA Neilson shows the pace of closures has risen this year, with 65 nightclubs shutting down between December 2023 and June 2024, equating to 11 closures per month, or three per week. By comparison, between June 2020 and June 2024, the UK lost 480 nightclubs, averaging ten per month, or two per week. Yorkshire is the hardest hit region, with a 45% reduction since 2020 from 132 to just 73 venues, followed by Lancashire, which has seen a 42% decline from 178 to 104 as has the south west with the number falling from 111 to 64. Elsewhere, the central region and Wales have seen numbers fall 41% from 200 to 118 in the central region and 66 to 39 in Wales. In the east of England, there has been a 39% reduction from 67 to 41 venues, Scotland has seen a decline of 34% – from 125 venues to 83 – while in London, numbers are down 29% from 200 to 143. The south and south east has seen a reduction of 24% from 92 to 70 venues and in the north east, numbers have dropped 20% from 61 to 49. NTIA chief executive Michael Kill said: “The nightclub and dance music sector is facing an unprecedented crisis. Since June 2020, we’ve been losing two nightclubs every week, but in the last six months, this has escalated to three per week. This rapid decline is devastating for our economy, culture, and communities. Our sector is treated like an afterthought, yet it supports jobs, tourism, and hospitality. Without urgent government intervention, we risk losing a key part of the UK's cultural identity in dance music. We need immediate action to prevent further closures. Long-term reform won't matter if there are no venues left to benefit from it.”

Restaurant deliveries enjoy ‘buoyant’ summer as takeaway sales stabilise: Britain’s restaurant groups finished a strong summer of delivery sales with like-for-like sales growth of 7.3% in August, CGA by NIQ’s latest Hospitality at Home Tracker reveals. Year-on-year increases in deliveries have been comfortably above the rate of inflation throughout 2024, falling below 7% only once since the start of the year, and August completes a buoyant summer for restaurants’ at-home orders, following figures of 17.1% and 9.4% in June and July respectively. The figures also reveal a 0.1% rise in takeaway and click-and-collect sales in August, the first year-on-year growth for 12 months, following steady movement away from pick-up orders to deliveries. However, the positive performance was driven by increased prices, as the volume of takeaway orders continued a downward trajectory. Combined deliveries, takeaways and click-and-collect sales in August were 4.6% ahead of the same month in 2023, the 15th month of like-for-like growth in a row. They attracted just over 14 pence in every pound spent with restaurants last month, against 86 pence for eat-in visits. Karl Chessell, CGA by NIQ’s director – hospitality operators and food, EMEA said: “A generally cool and wet summer has been disappointing for consumers and hospitality alike, but with many people staying inside, it’s worked to the advantage of restaurants’ deliveries. A buoyant August shows the ongoing appeal of ordering platforms, and it’s encouraging to see some stability in takeaways after a long-term slowdown. Less positively, it may also indicate that some consumers are opting to save money by eating restaurant food at home rather than going out. Growing eat-in sales without compromising deliveries will be a key challenge for restaurants as we enter autumn.”