Festive trading boosts hospitality, but profits still squeezed
Christmas trade delivered the sector’s busiest period of the year, with longer visits and higher spend per head in December. Yet, rising costs continue to constrain margins for UK hospitality operators, according to new data from The Oxford Partnership.
Christmas trading delivered the strongest customer engagement of the year for the UK hospitality sector in December, with venues busier, visits longer and spending per head reaching its highest level of 2025, according to figures from The Oxford Partnership.
However, rising costs continued to limit profitability.
The data shows the number of operating venues rose to 100,018 during December, pushing the total back above the 100,000 mark as temporary and marginal sites reopened for the festive period.
Customers stayed out longer than at any other point in the year, with average dwell time reaching 150 minutes. Venue occupancy also increased to 63.9%, suggesting genuinely fuller venues rather than simply longer visits.
Alison Jordan, chief executive of The Oxford Partnership, said December once again highlighted the importance of the festive season for the sector, with venues welcoming more people who stayed longer, and engaged more deeply with the experience. However, she said higher engagement alone is not enough to fix profitability.
Average spend per head rose to £26.53, the highest level recorded in 2025. This was largely driven by food-led festive occasions, group bookings and set menus. However, the report found that spend intensity remained constrained, as higher overall spending was spread across longer visits.
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Consumers were happy to spend time and money on social occasions, Jordan added. “What we didn’t see was a step-change in rate of sale. People spent more overall, but not faster, which limits the margin upside for operators.”
Operators kept average weekly opening hours steady at 64.5 hours, maintaining availability across lunch, evening and late-night trading to capture festive demand.
“In a challenging trading environment, festive performance remains structurally essential to annual outcomes for the UK On Trade,” Jordan added.
Despite stronger utilisation, cost pressures remained acute. Elevated energy prices, wage inflation, higher National Insurance contributions and ongoing food and drink input costs continued to weigh on margins. Additional festive staffing and increased utility use further diluted gains.
By category, year-to-date performance continues to be driven by premiumisation. Stout has been the standout performer, up 9.1% for the year, benefiting from strong winter appeal and growing mainstream popularity. Premium and world lager remain in growth, while craft beer and ale continue to struggle as consumers narrow their choices and favour familiar brands.
Analysis of the 25 highest-selling draught beer and cider days of 2025 underlines the dominance of the festive period. Christmas Eve was the single biggest trading day of the year, with around 2.75 million pints sold across approximately 10,000 outlets. Several other festive dates also feature prominently at the top of the rankings.
