The number of pubs and bar companies collapsing into insolvency rose 2.6% from 769 to 789 over the year to December 31, according to analysis of insolvency data.
That increase was largely driven by a 33% rise in the number of pub businesses closing in Scotland, where the number of failures rose from 40 to 53 last year. Pub and bar business insolvencies rose in England and Wales from 729 to 736.
The 789 pubs and bars groups in England, Scotland and Wales that fell into insolvency last year was more than double the 367 that went under in 2020. Among the notable failures in 2025 was cricket-themed chain Sixes, which was backed by England captain Ben Stokes, and Oakman Inns, the pubs and hotels chain.
This year has already seen the…