48% of UK venues launched in 2025 have already closed, new report

A new report has revealed that 48% of UK live music and entertainment venues that launched in 2025 have already closed their doors. The findings come from ticketing platform TicketSource, which analysed Companies House data covering venues opened across the past decade.

The UK venues report paints a stark picture of how short the runway has become for new operators. Most new venues last only 2.1 years from opening, while 73% close before reaching the three-year mark. By nine years, 89% have shut down. The 48% same-year closure rate sits at the front edge of that decline curve.

The opening side of the equation has held up so far. Around 15 UK venues opened each week on average across 2025, with 11 closing per week. That gives a “net gain” of just four venues per week. For every 100 new venues, 69 close in the same window. The maths means even strong openings can’t outpace the closure rate at scale.

Wider UK nightlife data backs the trend up. The Night Time Industries Association has separately reported that one in four late-night UK venues have shut since 2020, equating to nearly 800 closures across five years. Birmingham has lost 27.5% of its late-night venue base, and Greater London has dropped 20.8% to just 343 venues.

The grassroots end of the sector has had it worst. A Music Venue Trust report covering 2025 found that more than half of UK grassroots music venues failed to make a profit, with 6,000 jobs lost across the year. Combined with the new TicketSource numbers, the picture across UK venues is the worst it has been in modern memory.

The future outlook is no kinder. NTIA’s most recent member survey found that 40% of nightlife operators expect to close within six months unless additional financial support comes through. Without policy intervention, the next round of closures will hit before 2026 is out.

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