HU WELCOMES MINISTERS DECISION TO RETAIN SURRENDER PRINCIPLE

18 November 2025

Hospitality Ulster has today welcomed the Minister for Communities’ statement confirming that he will “not accept” recommendations for the targeted reform of the Surrender Principle following the Independent Review of the Liquor Licensing System in Northern Ireland.

While acknowledging the importance of a constructive debate on licensing reform, Hospitality Ulster has consistently highlighted that the surrender principle has supported a varied and independent offering, unlike GB where circa 47% of pubs are owned by nine companies. It has also provided financial stability for business owners, and security for banks and financial institutions, maintaining market stability, and supporting public health objectives.

The sector continues to face unprecedented pressures, from the cost of products, the highest energy prices in Europe, disproportionately high VAT rates, and the highest business rates in payable in the UK. Unlike operators in England and Wales, Northern Ireland’s hospitality businesses receive no rates support. These mounting costs, combined with increased wages and Employer National Insurance Contributions, have placed enormous strain on pubs and bars across the region.

Hospitality Ulster’s latest survey of its members for Q4 2025 found that 43 per cent of respondents have reduced staff numbers and 70 per cent have cut employee hours since the introduction of tax increases in April 2025. Half of operators are pessimistic about their own business prospects over the next 12 months, while almost two-thirds take a negative view of the market overall. A fifth of operators operated at a loss in Q3 2025, with 82% of respondents performing worse than Q3 2024, while more than a quarter believe their business to be in danger of failure in over the next 12 months.

Hospitality Ulster has underlined that retaining the surrender principle provides much-needed certainty and stability to a sector already under significant financial pressure. The Minister’s decision sends a clear signal to operators and investors that existing businesses will not face additional destabilising changes at a time when many pubs are struggling due to the cost of doing business crisis.

Colin Neill, Chief Executive, Hospitality Ulster, said:

“The decision to not accept recommendations for reform of the surrender principle is a welcome and pragmatic decision by the Minister, which provides certainty for an industry that has faced enormous challenges. The surrender principle remains essential to supporting an independent rich sector, providing stability for business owners and supporting wider public health goals. The recommendations of this report only added to the uncertainty felt by hospitality operators, risking investment, jobs and the long-term sustainability of our pubs and their rejection is good news for the industry.

“At a time when many pubs are struggling to survive, it is right that the focus should be on supporting those businesses, not on the hypothetical creation of new ones or expensive unnecessary quangos. This decision allows us to focus on the real issues that are threatening the survival of pubs across Northern Ireland, and it is not the lack of additional pubs.

“The surrender principle is essential to support our unique Ulster/Irish pub, providing stability for business owners and supporting wider public health goals. We welcome the Minister’s clarity on this issue and look forward to continuing to engage with the Department to ensure that future policy decisions support a sustainable, resilient, and competitive hospitality sector.”

“The Stirling report which cost £478,000, suggested our pubs were run by old men, lacked culture and diversity, and that the solution to pub closures was to remove the surrender principle and open more pubs. We have lobbied hard, committed considerable evidence and resources and have proven them wrong.”

“Our Ulster / Irish pub is world renowned for its diversity, culture and quality, providing opportunities for people of all ages, gender and background to enter the industry and become the owner of their own business, unlike many other countries which are dominated by large chains. It is part of our heritage and worth fighting for, an as industry body we take this opportunity to pay homage to the work of our great publicans and are proud to have had their backs!”