London’s Christmas party scene is bouncing back like it’s 2019

Across the British capital, restaurants, pubs and bars were booking reservations for office parties and dinners six months ago in anticipation of a busy season and as a way to incentivize workers. The new Wolseley City restaurant was 70% booked for Christmas parties before its doors opened in early November. The Birley Clubs, a string of members-only institutions that include high-profile Annabel’s, were 50% booked for the winter holidays by June, says Chief Operating Officer Edoardo Minoli.

The festive spirit is pervading the sector. Fuller’s pub group said it’s seeing “a strong Christmas,” with an 11% uptick in bookings from 2022, according to an update it issued in November. “This is so far going to be the first proper Christmas that companies have had to celebrate Christmas in the City since 2019,” said Simon Emeny, Fuller’s chief executive officer.

The strong Christmas results thus far come as a relief for the UK’s beleaguered industry; the so-called golden quarter will probably rescue some venues that were in danger of shutting. Restaurant closures reached a decade-long high in 2023, with insolvencies up 44% in in the 12 months ending in September, compared with the same period in 2021-22, according to the Insolvency Service, a government agency. Spending in restaurants continued to fall earlier this year, dropping 12% in November compared to November 2022, according to Barclays’ UK Consumer Spending Report.

After Covid restrictions were imposed in 2020 and 2021, last year’s celebrations were hampered by a wave of train and tube strikes that prompted cancellations. The industry trade organization UKHospitality estimated that restaurants, bars and pubs lost £1.5 billion (over $1.8 billion) in revenue and bookings from the 2022 rail strikes.

“Hospitality businesses rely on revenue made during the busy festive period to see them through the fallow months of January to March, so it’s essential that any more strikes during December are avoided,” says Kate Nicholls, UKHospitality’s chief executive.

Despite the threat from this year’s strikes, staff in the hospitality sector remain hopeful. “This year is set to be one of our busiest Christmases yet,” said Charlie Gilkes, founder and director of Inception Group, which runs a series of popular venues across London including Mr Fogg’s, Cahoots, Bunga Bunga, Barts and Control Room B. 

For Annabel’s, the fourth quarter has consistently provided substantial revenue. “There was a general consensus that it was going to be a catastrophic year, but that quickly changed,” says Birley Clubs COO Minoli. “We find our private dining rooms are  booked every day of the week, and Monday is just as popular as Thursday. It’s more about our availability, and our members will book whatever is available.”

Demand for parties has been so intense that companies are exploring less traditional options this year. While Thursdays and Wednesdays continue to be the most popular days to stage an event, interest in other weekdays has grown, as have bookings closer to Christmas.

“Overall, the larger group inquiries have increased year on year, and we have secured events on all weekdays,” says Maris Sildnik, head of sales and reservations at Sushi Samba. “This year the demand for group bookings and events runs right up to Christmas weekend, as opposed to last year, where the demand subsided the week before.” 

Likewise, Christmas party venues have expanded. Swingers Crazy Golf expects this holiday season to break records. The mini-golf chain has pre-booked the highest level of sales for December since it opened in May 2016; key Christmas dates were fully booked well in advance, according to Gemma Keegan, Swingers brand director. 

Despite the onset of flexible working schedules, Swingers was booking through the week, a trend that has continued through the holidays. “We thought working from home, or flexible working, may have impacted Friday business, but this hasn’t been the case, and we’ve been able to maximize on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday being peak trade days,” says Keegan. 

Still, clouds hang over the industry in the impending new year. The debt burden for London restaurants continues to mount and has surpassed £3 billion, according to London accounting firm UHY Hacker Young. Over the past decade, the report maintains, the sector became over-leveraged as chain restaurants borrowed to push expansion.

For this season, however, operators are hopeful, though many venues still have spots for last-minute revelers. “I do find London has a shorter lead than most places. People will phone and ask for something this week; it can be very last minute,” says Richard Cooke, cluster managing director at Brown’s Hotel. This year, he says, bookings for private rooms and Christmas afternoon teas are up 8% from last year.