44,650 pubs
UK pubs (BBPA, 2025)
Market data
UK pub market, values and deals
The estate, value and transaction data we use to structure pub finance, drawn from the trade bodies and specialist research houses and attributed throughout.
Written and reviewed by Matt Lenzie Founder & Principal Broker · 25 years arranging pub finance · Reviewed June 2026
412 pubs
Lost in 2024, England and Wales (Altus Group)
£34.4bn
Sector economic contribution (BBPA / Oxford Economics)
1,040,000
Jobs supported (BBPA)
This is the market evidence we use when we structure and place pub finance. Estate trends, the sector's economic footprint, pub values and recent deals all feed how a lender reads a pub and sizes a facility, and how we argue your case. Every figure below carries its source and date. Pub trading is not published town by town the way some sectors report it, so we use national and regional figures, always attributed, alongside the individual pub's own fair maintainable trade. We arrange and place finance as a broker and introducer; we are not a lender, and nothing here is an offer of finance.
The estate
The UK pub estate and its footprint
Pub counts diverge by methodology, and this is genuine, not an error: the BBPA counts the UK estate on a broader basis than Altus and the ONS, which count England and Wales more narrowly.
| Measure | Figure | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| UK pubs (BBPA basis) | 44,650 pubs | BBPA, 2025 |
| Pubs in England and Wales (Altus basis) | 38,989 pubs | Altus Group, Dec 2024 |
| Net pubs lost (England and Wales) | 412 pubs | Altus Group, 2024 |
| Jobs supported | 1,040,000 | BBPA, 2024 |
| Economic contribution | £34.4bn | BBPA / Oxford Economics, 2024 |
| Tax generated | £17.4bn | BBPA, 2024 |
| UK pub and bar market value | £24.6bn | Lumina Intelligence, 2026 forecast |
Sources: BBPA Beer & Pub Facts (UK count, jobs, economic contribution and tax); Altus Group (England and Wales count and closures); Lumina Intelligence (market value). The BBPA count includes premises that Altus and the ONS class differently, which is why it sits roughly 6,000 higher. The economic-contribution figure is the BBPA headline; a narrower gross value added basis has previously been quoted nearer £26bn.
Ownership models
The market by ownership model
How the UK pub and bar market splits by value, a read on where demand and trade sit.
| Segment | Value | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Managed, branded and franchised | £12.4bn | Christie & Co, 2025 |
| Independent and free-of-tie | £8.2bn | Christie & Co, 2025 |
| Tenanted and leased | £3.3bn | Christie & Co, 2025 |
Source: Christie & Co, Business Outlook 2026. Free-of-tie pubs, where the operator buys drink on the open market rather than from a brewery or pubco, are particularly sought after; a tied tenancy is cheaper to enter but the tie shapes margins and how a lender reads the trade.
Values and pricing
UK pub values and pricing trends
How the market prices pubs, from the firms that survey pub property. Pub yields are not published per segment, so these are pricing references and indicative commentary, not transaction yields.
| Measure | Coverage | Basis | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average pub sale price (Christie & Co index) | UK | Christie & Co transactions | +0.7% in 2024 | Christie & Co, FY2024 |
| Freehouse (freehold, owner-operated) sale prices | England and Wales | Going concern on FMT | down about 6% in 2024 | Fleurets, 2024 |
| Leasehold (free-of-tie and tied) sale prices | England and Wales | Assignment of lease | up about 10% in 2024 | Fleurets, 2024 |
| Freehold tenanted package (Fuller's to Admiral) | UK | Tenanted investment | about £495,000 per pub | Admiral Taverns / trade press, May 2024 |
| Pubs sold that stayed in pub use | England and Wales | Fleurets disposals | 69% in 2024 | Fleurets, 2024 |
Trend. Pub pricing stayed polarised through 2024 and into 2025: strong demand for assets under about £600,000 and for prime free-of-tie and freehold houses, with a tougher mid-market (Christie & Co, Business Outlook 2025 and 2026). Going-concern values are set on a multiple of fair maintainable trade rather than bricks alone, so cost inflation in wages, energy, business rates and beer duty feeds straight into what a buyer will pay. Christie & Co expects transaction pipelines into 2026 to run ahead of the prior year, with interest rates broadly stable.
Sources: Christie & Co, Business Outlook 2025 and 2026 (Pubs); Fleurets, Survey of Pub Prices, January 2025; Lumina Intelligence, UK Pub & Bar Market Report 2025/26; Admiral Taverns and trade press (Morning Advertiser, The Caterer). Going-concern pub values are set on a multiple of fair maintainable trade, not on bricks alone. These figures are point-in-time market commentary and are not an offer of finance.
Estate change
How the pub estate is changing
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Pubs in England and Wales (year-end count) | 39,401 | 38,989 |
| Net pubs lost in the year (closed or converted) | around 386 | 412 |
| Pubs sold that stayed in pub use | 66% | 69% |
Closures stayed high through 2024 (up about 6.7% on 2023), but the share of sold pubs remaining in pub use rose, and Christie & Co recorded a small (+0.7%) rise in average pub sale prices over the year. The 2023 net-loss figure is derived from the Altus year-end counts and the reported year-on-year change. Going-concern values are set on a multiple of fair maintainable trade, so cost inflation feeds straight into pricing.
Source: Altus Group (England and Wales pub counts); Fleurets, Survey of Pub Prices, January 2025; Christie & Co, Business Outlook 2025.
Operators
Major UK pub operators and pubcos
The operators, pubcos and brewers whose models shape how lenders read a pub.
| Operator | UK estate | Model | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stonegate Group | ~4,300 pubs and bars | Managed, leased and tenanted (Craft Union, operator-led) | Stonegate FY24 results / trade press, 2024/25 |
| Greene King | ~2,600 pubs (~1,100 tenanted or leased) | Brewer, managed and tenanted | Greene King / trade press, 2026 |
| Star Pubs (Heineken UK) | ~2,400 pubs | Leased and tenanted | Star Pubs & Bars, 2025 |
| Mitchells & Butlers | ~1,700 pubs and restaurants | Managed (food-led brands) | Mitchells & Butlers, 2024/25 |
| Admiral Taverns | 1,420+ pubs | Community tenanted and leased | Admiral Taverns, April 2025 |
| Marston's | ~1,330 pubs | Managed and franchised | Marston's, 2024/25 |
| Punch Pubs & Co | ~1,300 pubs | Leased and tenanted | Trade press, 2025/26 |
| J D Wetherspoon | ~800 pubs (about 794 managed plus franchises) | Managed, value-led | Wetherspoon / trade press, Dec 2025 |
| Fuller's | ~338 (185 managed, 153 tenanted) | Premium managed and tenanted | Fuller's FY2025 results |
| Young's | ~280 managed pubs | Premium managed | Young's, 2025 |
Estate sizes are point-in-time from operator results and trade sources; several are approximate. Whether a pub is managed, tenanted, leased or free-of-tie materially affects lender appetite and leverage.
Transactions
Notable UK pub deals, 2024 to 2026
Recent portfolio and single-asset transactions, a read on appetite and pricing.
| Asset / portfolio | Price | Buyer | Detail | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young's tenanted estate (Ram Pub Company) | £53m | Punch Pubs & Co | 56 tenanted pubs | 2025 |
| Cubitt House | £30m | Young's | 9 premium London pubs | Apr 2026 |
| Fuller's freehold tenanted pubs | £18.3m (~£495k per pub) | Admiral Taverns | 37 freehold pubs | May 2024 |
| Marston's freehold pubs | Undisclosed | Admiral Taverns | 18 freehold pubs | Sept 2024 |
| Marston's tenanted pubs | Undisclosed | Red Oak Taverns | 19 tied tenanted pubs (brokered by Christie & Co) | May 2024 |
| Heineken / Star pubs | Undisclosed | Admiral Taverns | 17 pubs | 2024/25 |
| McMullen's pub package | Undisclosed | Punch Pubs & Co | 30 pubs | 2025/26 |
| Stonegate pubs | Undisclosed | Punch Pubs & Co | 4 pubs | 2025/26 |
| Stonegate 'Platinum' division | ~£1bn (sale under review, not completed) | Under review | ~1,000 pubs | Announced Nov 2025 |
Sources: Christie & Co, Fleurets and trade press (Morning Advertiser, The Caterer, Pub & Bar) plus company announcements. Several pub prices were undisclosed, and are marked as such.
Funding a pub against these numbers?
Tell us about the pub and its trade and we will come back with a view on fundability and likely terms within one working day. We arrange and place the finance; we are not a lender.