Brighton and Hove has more night-time economy businesses for its size than any other UK city in a new 54-city nightlife study, published in October 2026 by the adult entertainment TV brand Babestation. The city has 802 night-time economy businesses for every 100,000 residents, ahead of London on 701 and Edinburgh on 617.
It also came first on the other two measures in the study, entertainment venues and arts and recreation businesses. Here are the numbers, what they measure, and the pressure the late-night trade is under in the real world.
How Brighton and Hove scored in the nightlife study
Night-time economy businesses. 802 per 100,000 residents, the highest of the 54 cities. This covers pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels.
Entertainment venues. 33 per 100,000 residents, ahead of Chichester and Cambridge on 27 each. Entertainment venues in the study include cinemas, theatres, museums and amusement parks.
Arts, entertainment and recreation businesses. 278 per 100,000 residents, ahead of London on 251. That works out at roughly one arts and leisure business for every 360 residents.
Going out. The study says 54% of adults in Brighton and Hove have been to a live music event, the biggest share of any city with survey data.
The study ranks cities by their average position across the three business measures. Brighton and Hove came first overall. Chichester and London tied on an average position of 4, Edinburgh was sixth and Cambridge seventh.
The top 10 night-time economy cities compared
Cambridge is the fast mover in the study. Its after-dark workforce has grown 36.7% in seven years, which the study says is the fastest climb in the country. For Brighton and Hove the same measure is 14.2%.
What the study counts, and what it does not
The study compares the number of businesses in each city against its population, counting every 100,000 residents. That makes it a measure of how many places there are, not how busy they are, how much they earn or whether they are still open next year. It was produced for Babestation, an adult entertainment TV brand, which asks that the data is credited to it.
The brand's own entertainment expert says the best nights out start with plenty of choice, and that smaller cities can hold their own against bigger ones when people find a scene friendly, safe and easy to get around.
Late-night venues are closing across Britain
The study itself says one in four after-dark venues in the UK closed between 2020 and 2026. The trade body Night Time Industries Association puts the national picture at 867 late-night venues closed since March 2020, 28.7% of the sector, including 448 nightclubs, a fall of 36.1%. Its figures, published on 15 October 2026 with NielsenIQ and CGA, show a net 350 outlets closing in the first half of 2026, more than 13 a week.
The NTIA is asking the government for business rates relief for nightclubs, a review of employer National Insurance costs and support for independent late-night businesses.
How Brighton and Hove regulates the night
The council adopted a new licensing policy on 5 January 2026, after councillors approved it unanimously at Full Council on 18 December 2025. Its main new feature is a City Safety Area that puts safety measures at the centre of licensing decisions in the city centre. The council says the policy aims to support a vibrant, inclusive night-time economy while cutting crime, disorder, litter and noise.
Licensing Committee chair Councillor David McGregor called it "the biggest shift in our licensing policy in the last 2 decades". Details are on the council's licensing policy page.
That policy is being tested in real applications this month. Our reports on late-night licences include Taco Bell on London Road, which asked for a 3am licence and was due before the licensing panel on Monday 2 November, Sushi Co on Western Road, which has a 3am delivery licence before the panel on 2 November too, the police request to suspend the licence at Corner News and Booze on Ditchling Road for 8 weeks, and KFC on Western Road, whose bid to deliver until 3am goes before the panel on Tuesday 10 November.
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