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Pub or bar companies in the Reading area

264 pub or bar companies have a registered office in the Reading area (RG postcodes), and 73 of them were formed in 2025 or 2026. In their latest accounts, the typical one held £19,843 in cash and owed £54,802 at year end.

Companies House register, 1 September 2026, and accounts filed in the last twelve months. Compared with the official category “Public houses and bars” (SIC 56302). Covers companies with a registered office in RG postcodes, including Reading, Basingstoke, Newbury.

The numbers

Pub or bar companies in the Reading area (RG postcodes) compared with the same category across the UK. Typical figures are medians.
MeasureReadingUK
Registered companies26433,937
Formed in 2025 or 202673 (28%)26%
Being struck off or in liquidation44 (17%)19%
Typical cash at year end£19,84373 accounts£20,671
Typical amount owed at year end£54,802125 accounts£54,849
Typical number of employees4125 accounts5

What this means if you’re starting one

More of these companies are closing than in most trades

15% of pub or bar companies in the Reading area (RG postcodes) are currently being struck off, against 5.6% of all companies there. Nationally that rate is higher than 96% of UK industries.

Closures run high here. It is a churn signal, not a survival rate, but it means the common failure points are worth learning before you start.

Most of your competition will be other newcomers

28% of the 264 pub or bar companies in the Reading area (RG postcodes) were formed in 2025–26, against 18% of all companies in the Reading area (RG postcodes).

New rivals are arriving faster than in most trades, so your customers already have fresh options. Being new is not a difference on its own.

Cash is tight in this trade

At year end the typical pub or bar company in the Reading area (RG postcodes) holds £19,843 in cash and owes £54,802; that cash figure is lower than 59% of UK industries.

Typical operators end the year holding less cash than they owe, so there is little slack if takings dip or a big bill lands early.

Planning a business like this in Reading?

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What these figures can’t tell you

Companies are counted where their registered office is, which may be an accountant or a home address rather than a shop. Sole traders and partnerships are not on the register, and electronically filed accounts cover roughly 60–75% of accounts filed each year. The figures describe companies that exist; they cannot prove demand for your idea or predict whether it will work. How the figures are built.

Pub or bar in other places

Other businesses in Reading

All business benchmarks in Reading