Is now a good time to open a bar in the UK?
When considering opening a bar, it’s essential to understand the current state of the market you’re about to enter to assess if a new business has a real chance of success. Based on the outcomes of our survey and latest findings from CGA, the landscape shows cautious optimism.
Operators outlook
Despite ongoing economic challenges, our survey revealed a surprisingly resilient outlook, with 74% of operators expressing confidence in market potential over the next 12 months. 47% predict an increase in footfall over the next year, while 34% expect business to hold steady.
That’s encouraging, but there’s a reality check worth considering.
Customer outlook
While operators are optimistic, customer behaviour tells a more cautious tale. Only 27% of customers say they plan to visit pubs and bars more often over the next year. The majority, 64%, expect their habits to remain unchanged. This gap between expectation and reality suggests that growth won’t come simply from more frequent visits but instead, bars must give people compelling reasons to choose their venue when they do go out.
What drives their decisions?
Our survey found that the top reasons customers visit pubs and bars are to socialise with friends and family (86%), to enjoy a meal (73%) and to celebrate special occasions (64%), with seasonal celebrations, such as Christmas, (48%) and accompanying other activities, like going to the theatre, (43%) also ranking highly. There’s also growing appetite for quiz nights (66%) and competitive socialising formats (56%) such as bowling, pool or immersive games.
So, yes - now may be a good time to open a bar, but the success of your venture will depend on thorough market research, clear financial planning and a concept that genuinely resonates with today's customers.
Opening a bar checklist
Ready to launch? Use our bar opening checklist to guide you through every essential step of opening a bar.
How to open a bar
From securing your licence to buying the essentials, here’s how to open your dream bar.
Step 1 - Write a clear business plan
Before you spend a penny or sign a lease, you need to know exactly what you're building. A strong business plan for a bar doesn’t just outline your goals but shows potential investors, partners and lenders that you’ve thought through every angle.
Here’s what to include:
-
Your bar concept: Clearly identify your bar's niche and be as specific as possible - be it craft cocktails, speciality beers or interactive experiences, answer what makes you different.
-
Your ideal customer: Your target demographic will influence everything from your drinks list to your decor - are you targeting after-work professionals, weekend partygoers or craft beer lovers?
-
Location insight: Our survey found that 49% of consumers prefer city-centre venues, but suburban bars with a clear niche are seeing increased interest, particularly among local communities seeking alternatives to city travel.
-
Detailed financials: Be honest about startup costs, ongoing expenses and when you expect to break even. Tools like the Collins Value Calculator can help you forecast and track revenue.
Step 2 - Set up your business legally
Starting strong means getting the legal stuff right. First, choose a business structure that fits your goals - sole trader, partnership or limited company. Then register with HMRC and Companies House. You'll also need to apply for several licenses:
-
Premises license: Required for any venue in England and Wales that sells alcohol, provides entertainment or serves hot food and drinks between 11pm and 5am.
-
Personal license: Required for at least one individual (usually a Designated Premises Supervisor) to authorise the sale of alcohol on the premises.
-
Food hygiene certificate: While not legally required, it's strongly recommended, and in practice, environmental health officers expect all food handlers to be trained to a level appropriate for their role. Most operators ensure staff have at least a Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate.
Once you’re officially up and running, use platforms like DesignMyNight to build visibility, drive bookings and get those first customers through the door - especially since 58% of customers in our survey said they rely on sites like DesignMyNight and TripAdvisor to find their next destination venue.
Step 3 - Select the right location
Our survey also found that 59% of customers find an appealing location one of the top three reasons for visiting a pub or bar. Research and consider where your target audience spends their time, and once you have an idea, visit that location at different times to see the flow of people and energy. If it feels like a place your ideal customers would enjoy, you’re on the right track.
Some additional things to consider:
-
Accessibility and parking: If your ideal customers are tourists, parking might not be a top priority. But if you’re focusing on local traffic, you might want to consider parking options.
-
Transport links: Will your venue be easy to reach by different means of transportation and ideally, at different times of day or night, including bank holidays?
-
Local competition: Being near other popular venues can boost your own footfall, but too many similar businesses nearby can dilute your customer base.
Step 4 – Design your bar space
This step will be one of the most exciting ones, with your idea finally taking shape and materialising into a brand new bar. The style and aesthetics will be entirely up to you, but our advice would be to thoughtfully consider the following:
-
Flow of people: You’ll want to make sure that a full house still feels comfortable, isn't jammed with chairs and customers touching each other and there’s enough space for your bar staff to walk through with orders.
-
Comfortable seating: Test the chairs against the height of the tables and if they match the mood of your bar – if, for example, it’s a romantic, intimate late-night venue, plush, cosy chairs might be the best choice.
-
Standing or waiting area: If possible, think about creating a dedicated area for customers waiting for a table or those who just want to grab a quick drink.
-
Lighting: Atmosphere plays a key role in your guests’ experience, and lighting is a big part of that - from the placement and colour of lights to making sure guests can comfortably read menus and see their drinks. In fact, 60% of the guests we surveyed said a relaxed atmosphere is one of the most important factors when choosing where to go out.
-
Sound: Depending on your plans, such as whether you’re planning on having some music in the background or hosting live music nights in, consider the placement and quality of the speakers and any other sound-related equipment, especially since 56% of customers aged 18-34 told us a lively atmosphere is one of the top five things they look for in a pub or bar.
-
Kitchen, storage and prep area: Ensure these back of house spaces are efficiently designed for safety, fast service and easy workflow.
-
Outdoor space: 72% of consumers stated outdoor seating to be appealing in bars and pubs. If possible, consider having an outdoor area or roof terrace – these can bring extra revenue, especially in the warmer months.
Step 5 - Source essential equipment and glassware
If you want to deliver top-tier drinks even on the busiest nights, your back bar setup has to be spot-on. Start with the essentials:
-
A solid commercial fridge and freezer
-
Ice machines (you'll need more than you think)
-
Blenders, shakers, jiggers, strainers, muddlers, cutting boards, peelers, knives, bottle openers, towels and pourers
-
Glassware that matches your menu: short rocks, highballs, coupes, wine glasses, and soft drinks glasses
A busy night with clinking glasses and high turnover can put your barware through its paces, so when buying the equipment, think about durability and volume as investing in quality tools early can save you money (and stress) in the long run.
Step 6 - Set up stock and inventory management
Inventory management might not be the most glamorous part of running a bar, but it’s one of the most critical.
Here’s how to stay in control of your costs:
-
Build solid relationships with suppliers
-
Use inventory management software to monitor stock in real time
-
Make sure you have a good accounting system in place or hire a bookkeeper.
In our survey, more than half of operators (54%) said maintaining profitability was challenging in the last 12 months and an additional 39% cited new legislation as the reason for their struggles. Knowing these real challenges faced by others in the industry can help you, as a new bar operator, better anticipate obstacles and plan more effectively.
Step 7 – Buy a bar POS and booking system
Bar POS is a crucial tool as it will work at the heart of all your operations, connecting front of house with back, giving you real-time data on sales and stock. As a system that’s so important in your daily operations, you’ll want to carefully evaluate your options when choosing the best epos system for pubs and bars. Consider the features for managing bar tabs, ease of use and how fast it can process transactions as well as its hardware – you'll want to choose a device that can withstand occasional spills. Bear in mind customer preferences – in our survey we found that 59% of customers like to be able to order and pay for drinks at their table via phone, but only 27% of operators offer this.
A bar booking system on the other hand, will help you manage online bookings and walk -ins, reduce no-shows with confirmations and reminders and offer insights into guest preferences and visit frequency. As 61% of guests want to have the option to book a table for drinks, the reservation system is becoming non-negotiable.
Step 8 – Hire your bar staff
You can have the perfect location, menu and design, but it’s your staff who make the magic happen – your bar simply won’t survive without the right staff.
Tips for building your dream team:
-
Hire for personality; train for skill.
-
Define clear roles and responsibilities early.
-
Create a culture where feedback and development are ongoing.
How many employees will you need? That will depend on the size of your venue, the type of service (e.g., table service vs. bar-only), expected footfall as well as other variables like peak hours and seasonal trends. Roles that you might want to cover include:
-
Front of house: hosts, servers, bartenders, bussers and food runners.
-
Back of house: head chefs, sous chefs, line and prep cooks and kitchen porters.
-
Management team: bar managers and venue managers.
It’s also worth building in some flexibility - part-time or casual staff can help during busy periods without overstaffing during quieter times.
Step 9 – Effective marketing from day one
Getting the word out early is one of the most important things you can do to set your bar up for success. Here are a few low-cost marketing tools to consider:
-
Social media marketing: If you don’t yet have the budget for wider marketing campaigns, social media is an effective way to market your new business. Set up accounts on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook and regularly post about exciting things happening in your venue while building a community.
-
SMS marketing: Ideal for time-sensitive offers and event invites, SMS marketing allows you to put your message right where your customers already are.
-
Email marketing: Email marketing remains one of the most powerful tools for hospitality helping to bring new customers through the doors while also providing a chance to reconnect with previous guests. While there are several low-cost platforms to get you started, keep in mind these often come with limitations, like caps on the number of messages you can send or the size of your contact database.
Our survey shows that currently, only 38% of pubs and bars use marketing and CRM tools, which indicates that many operators are not tapping into the effective strategies these tools can offer. Hospitality CRM platforms like Acteol CRM can help you connect, segment, engage and measure your data through its Single Customer View, allowing you to use it in the most effective way and analyse the results of a campaign. It also offers email and SMS marketing within its suite of functions, while integrating with POS and booking system for even more precise customer insights.
Step 10 - Use customer data for continuous growth
Data might sound dull, but it’s one of the most powerful tools you’ve got to turn a good bar into a great one, build loyalty and boost your bottom line.
By pulling data from across your systems: CRM, POS, procurement software, guest Wi-Fi, pay-at-table platforms, and bookings, you can build a clearer picture of how your business operates and how your customers behave. That means better decisions around everything from staffing and promotions to inventory and layout. Profits, waste and even things like spilled pints all leave behind useful data breadcrumbs, all of which can help you:
-
Identify peak hours and optimise staffing to reduce costs and improve service.
-
Spot high-performing menu items (and confidently retire those that aren’t pulling their weight).
-
Tailor events and promotions to attract specific customer groups and boost engagement.
Ready to open a bar?
Opening a bar is exciting, but success takes more than just a great concept. From choosing the right location and designing your space to hiring the right team and implementing smart tech from day one, every detail counts.
Arming yourself with real and up-to-date industry insights, like how many operators struggle with profitability, or customers’ preferred payment methods, puts you in a much better position to make smart decisions, ensuring that your venue is set to a great start.
Access Collins is a booking system designed for bars, pubs and nightclubs, offering flexible solutions to simplify your operations, that can help you:
-
Increase bookings and reduce no-shows: Secure pre-authorisations or deposits to make sure bookings are honoured.
-
Promote your venue: List your venue in front of up to 3.9 million monthly visitors on our partner site, DesignMyNight.
-
Build customer loyalty: Use CRM and Wi-Fi integrations to capture guest data and offer personalised promotions.
-
Keep your venue running smoothly: Manage walk-ins, queues and bookings in real time.
-
Simplify your workload: From group bookings to ticketed events, handle it all in one easy-to-use platform.
Get in touch today to find out how the right solution can help your business thrive – right from the start.
