What GP should a pub make on food and on drink?
UK pubs in the UKHospitality × Christie & Co Benchmarking Report 2022 made 68% GP on food and 65% on drink (both community local and food-led pubs), measured on ex-VAT sales for the 12 months to December 2021. Your overall figure is the blend of the two weighted by your sales mix: a pub taking 40% of sales from food at 68% and 60% from drink at 65% makes 66.2% overall.
Blended GP calculator
Blended GP = food share × food GP + drink share × wet GP.
Tied and free-of-tie pubs
The same report split estates by lease type. Free-of-tie estates ran 68.9% wet GP against 61.2% for tied estates; food GP was close to level at 67.1% and 67.3%. At a 40/60 food-to-drink mix that is a blended 68.2% free of tie against 63.6% tied. The report warns its tied sample was small, so treat the gap as directional.
| Food share of sales | Free of tie (67.1% / 68.9%) | Tied (67.3% / 61.2%) |
|---|---|---|
| 20% food, 80% drink | 68.5% | 62.4% |
| 30% food, 70% drink | 68.4% | 63.0% |
| 40% food, 60% drink | 68.2% | 63.6% |
| 50% food, 50% drink | 68.0% | 64.3% |
| 60% food, 40% drink | 67.8% | 64.9% |
Method: blended GP = food share × food GP + drink share × wet GP, using the survey's food and wet GP for each lease type. The sales mixes are examples, not survey figures.
What this means for a pub kitchen
- If you are tied, food is the lever. The tie sets your drink buying price; you choose your own food suppliers, so the kitchen's GP is the part you can move.
- Mix moves the blend more than small GP changes. Shifting 10 points of sales from food to drink at the tied figures changes the blend by 0.6%.
- Always ex VAT. Drink containing alcohol is standard-rated whether drunk on or off the premises (HMRC VAT Notice 701/14).
Questions chefs ask
What is a good wet GP for a pub?
The 2022 survey's community local and food-led pubs both made 65% wet GP; free-of-tie estates made 68.9% and tied estates 61.2%. See how to calculate wet GP for the per-serve sums.
Is food or drink more profitable in a pub?
By percentage they were close in that survey (food 67% and wet 66% across the whole sample). Drink usually needs less labour per pound of sales, so check prime cost, not just GP.
Sources
More chef questions: Food cost % by venue type · Menu price multiplier table · Portions per kg · Cooked vs raw weight · Kitchen energy cost per dish · Kitchen staff cost 2026/27 · Sunday roast cost per cover · Prep par and shelf life · UK wholesale staple prices
Run the free calculator → · See the templates → · Save your recipes free →