Nightclubs must adapt and diversify to avoid extinction

Three nightclubs close every week in the UK, more than 150 each year, according to the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA).

Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020 more than a third of clubs have shut their doors for good, with the NTIA warning New Year’s Eve 2029 could mark the UK’s “last night out” as we know it.

The scene is no healthier in East Anglia, with nightclub bosses blaming rising costs and lower footfall for the industry’s decline.

Three UK nightclubs are closing every week, more than 150 a year (Image: Rupert Taylor) They say the Budget has only made their situation worse; with employers’ national insurance contributions set to increase, the minimum wage rising and rates on non-draught products like wines and spirits going up in line with inflation.

READ MORE: Hospitality industry in crisis across the region after 'final straw' Budget

However, there is still hope for the party industry, but owners say that clubs must adapt and diversify their offering to survive.

‘GHOST TOWN’

“It’s never busy anymore,” said Leyla Edwards, owner of The Club in Ipswich. 

“I’m hanging on by the skin of my teeth but I don’t know whether I can hang on much longer.”

The Club, which only opens on Friday and Saturday nights, has a capacity of 350 but is now averaging just 50 customers a night.

Leyla Edwards, owner of The Club in Ipswich (Image: Charlotte Bond) “Last Saturday we had about ten customers,” said Miss Edwards, who bought the venue three weeks before the first lockdown in March 2020 and has invested more than £50,000 of her own savings into sound systems and lights. 

“I’ve still got to pay three or four door staff, two or three bar staff and a DJ.

“The last couple of months we’ve been having to close early because there’s been nobody about.

“Ipswich is a ghost town.”

The Club in Ipswich (Image: Charlotte Bond)

Miss Edwards believes that teenagers those in their 20s, who missed out on going to nightclubs during the pandemic, now don't go out as frequently as previous generations.

She said the expensive cost of drinks in clubs caused by inflation is also putting people off.

“Everybody was eager to get out after lockdown so we had a very good first year,” she said.

“The second year we broke even but by the third year we had to use everything in the bank to stay afloat. This year we’ve made a loss.

“There’s a generation who never got to experience clubbing at the age most people did and it has had a knock-on effect.

Leyla Edwards bought the venue three weeks before the first lockdown in March 2020 (Image: Charlotte Bond) “The price of our barrelage and the stock we buy has also massively increased. I can’t put my prices up enough to reflect that.

“You don’t get much change out of £20 for two drinks sometimes. If you had a decent brand of spirit and a mixer you would definitely be paying close to the £10 a drink.

“I keep hoping for a miracle. We’ve run out of money three times this year.

"I’ve had to think about closing the doors but each time we’ve had an event night that’s saved us.”

Leyla Edwards invested more than £50,000 into a new sound system and lights at The Club (Image: CHARLOTTE BOND)

'THE INDUSTRY HAS CHANGED' 

"The hedonism of going to a nightclub and getting lost in the music and really appreciating the music has been lost," said Bradley Fish, who opened The Jube in Great Yarmouth in 2019. 

The venue hosts a range of events, from private parties and functions to rock and roll, drum and base, soul and karaoke nights. 

Bradley Fish and his partner Laura in the karaoke booth at The Jube in Great Yarmouth (Image: Archant) "The nightclub industry has changed and has been in dramatic decline over the years," he said. 

"People enjoy events now where there is a 'reason' for going. They want to see entertainment and have an experience.

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"Today it’s about buying an experience, not just entry to a club."

ADAPT OR DIE

“The building represents things we love; music, food, cocktails, wine, comedy and good conversation,” says Brad Baxter, who owns Gonzo’s Tea Room in Norwich with his brother Mike.

“We really just built a place we’d personally want to hang out in.”

Brad Baxter on the Gonzo's roof terrace in Norwich (Image: Denise Bradley) The popular London Street venue serves a range of burgers, street food and cocktails, while its Two Room club is packed by night.

Mr Baxter believes nightclubs need to diversify their offering to protect their future.

“For smaller venues, opening every day and finding reasons for customers to walk through your doors on a weekday is important,” he said.

The team at Gonzo's (Image: Gonzo's) “For larger venues this would be very difficult in a small city. The biggest challenge for large venues that are open mostly at weekends is giving employees a 40-hour work week.

"You’re going to have trouble recruiting the best on a 16-hour per week position.

“It’s definitely not easy for those large capacity places right now.”

Inside Gonzo's in Norwich (Image: Clara Jackson)