Britain’s managed hospitality groups had their best month of 2026 in September, with like-for-like sales up 2.7% year on year, according to the NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker. Pubs led at 3.8% and restaurants posted their strongest figure since November 2024, yet growth still sat just below inflation.
Published on 22 October 2026, the tracker is produced by NIQ, powered by CGA intelligence, in association with accountancy firm RSM UK. September’s 2.7% rise follows 0.8% in August and is the fifth positive month in a row. The figures come directly from 117 managed groups, a cohort that includes Greene King, Mitchells & Butlers, Stonegate, Nando’s, Wagamama, Pizza Hut UK, Popeyes, Wingstop and Five Guys, several of which trade through operators rather than company-run sites, like the fast food franchises in the UK. It also runs from pub companies such as Fuller’s, Young’s and Shepherd Neame to food brands like Tortilla, Tossed and YO! Sushi.
Pubs ahead, bars still negative
The split by format is uneven. Pub groups grew 3.8%, their second-best month of the year after July, when the men’s football World Cup lifted trade, though managed houses trade on a different basis from the tenancies and franchises set out in how to open a pub in the UK. Managed restaurant groups rose 2.6%, their best result since November 2024, after a first half in which many consumers cut back on eating out.
Bars remained in negative territory at minus 1.7%, although NIQ notes this is their best like-for-like result since the start of 2025. London lagged slightly: groups grew 2.3% inside the M25 against 2.8% elsewhere in Britain.
New openings carry total sales
Openings explain much of the gap between like-for-like and headline growth. Including venues opened in the previous 12 months, total sales rose 6.2% year on year in September. The like-for-like figure, by contrast, remains just under the UK rate of inflation, and NIQ says the sector has not achieved real-terms growth since spring 2025. For brands expanding through new sites, whether company-run or franchised, the measure shows the estate growing faster than trade in existing venues.
All eyes on the Budget
Both partners tie the outlook for the festive period to the Budget. Saxon Moseley, head of leisure and hospitality at RSM UK, said there was “real momentum building ahead of the festive season”. He called on the government to reconsider National Insurance contribution policy and the proposed pay harmonisation for under-21s. NIQ points to continuing pressure on taxes, ingredients, labour and energy. The October tracker, due next month, will show whether the September pick-up held into the autumn.
Moseley also tied the sector’s case to employment. He pointed to nearly one million young people currently not in education, employment or training, and argued that hospitality is well placed to take them on if the Budget backs it. The tracker itself gives participants a detailed breakdown of their own trading to benchmark against the cohort. NIQ’s Karl Chessell credited a warm start to autumn with unlocking some extra spending, and said restaurants in particular would feel encouraged.
