Urban Pubs and Bars defies hospitality gloom with doubling of profit
One of London’s biggest pub chains has defied hospitality gloom after posting a more than doubling of profit.
Urban Pubs and Bars, which operates more than fifty venues across the capital including The Wren in Bank, the Commercial Tavern in Spitalfields and the Punch Tavern in Fleet Street, saw pre-trax profit climb to £1.7m for the year to the end of April compared with £656,000 the previous year.
Turnover for the period climbed by nearly a third to £39.1m after the company opened over a dozen new sites over the course of the year, with a further seven venues having opened since May.
The company said it was seeking yet more opportunities to expand across London, in stark contrast to other hospitality firms that have warned the industry is under immense strain from higher taxes and rising cost pressures.
“There are numerous challenges to the hospitality industry, and the group is not immune to those challenges,” Urban Pubs and Bars said in accounts filed to Companies House.
“However, the company remains highly profitable and well-funded. We are confident that we can continue to trade well during these challenging times and believe that we will be able to capitalise on opportunities to expand the portfolio when good sites in London become available.”
Hospitality under pressure
The stellar results come as the hospitality sector warns of more pub closures ahead amid rising labour costs, continued inflation and soaring rates of tax.
The most at risk pubs in London have been revealed by a new website that calculates how proposed changes to business rates could affect the hospitality industry.
New website ismypubfucked.com uses official data from the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to identify which pubs will be most affected by the proposed increases to the business rates.
The “most fucked pub” in the capital is the Spread Eagle in Wandsworth, facing a £104,000 hike (+622 per cent). The Beaten Docket in Cricklewood, north west London is second in London with an “absolutely fucked” rating – it could see rates increase by £138,000 or 431 per cent.
It’s followed by the Dog and Bell in Deptford, which is in 40th place on the overall leaderboard, with a potential rise of £74,000 equating to a 426 per cent rise. Fourth is the Wickham Arms in Brockley at number 45 with a potential £37,250 increase (+425 per cent).
There could be some respite for these pubs, with the government expected to change the way business rates are calculated, resulting in smaller rises to bills. But Is My Pub Fucked points out that rates are “just one pressure” on the hospitality industry, with rising wages, higher National Insurance, increased alcohol duty, soaring energy costs and decreased customer spending all contributing to the catastrophe.
London bucks wider woes
Urban Pubs and Bars put its success down to the fact that it “operates all of its sites within London, and as such has the benefit of a large local customer base, in addition to an influx of tourists and visitors.
The firm added that its “investors remain supportive and retain the ambition to further grow the portfolio of pubs.”
Last month the company announced it had acquired The Birdcage in East London from Brewdog, marking its sixth acquisition of 2026.
The deal follows the recent completion of five premium hospitality venues in January, including The Prince Regent in Herne Hill and a package of four established sites from Brunning & Price.
The Brunning & Price venues comprise The Roebuck and The Steam Packet in Chiswick, The Queens in Crouch End, and Coco Momo in Kensington.
Trading throughout December was significantly ahead of last year, with excellent like-for-like sales growth of 14.5 per cent and a 40 per cent increase in total covers.