A pub has two cost drivers that no other trade shares in the same combination: a cellar that must be cooled continuously to a tight temperature band whatever the trade, and a waste stream dominated by glass, which is heavy, voluminous and completely distorts a general waste contract if it is not separated. Add licensed premises risk on the insurance side and you have a cost profile that generic comparison sites handle badly.
Key takeaways
- Cellar cooling is a continuous load and often the largest single item on the electricity bill.
- Glass needs its own collection — putting it through general waste is expensive twice over.
- Loss of licence cover and assault liability are specific to licensed premises.
- Card terminals, gaming machines and sports broadcasting all depend on the same connection.
Energy for pubs and bars
Cellar cooling, ice, and glasswashers — all running regardless of trade.
A pub’s baseload is remarkably high relative to its trading pattern. Cellar cooling runs 24 hours a day and must hold a tight band, ice machines run continuously, bottle coolers and back-bar fridges never switch off, and glasswashers cycle hot water throughout service. That baseload barely moves on a quiet Tuesday, which is why usage does not track takings and why the contract, not behaviour, is where the saving is.
- Cellar cooling maintenance is the highest-return measure available: a fouled condenser or a failing door seal makes the unit run permanently.
- Cellar insulation and a properly sealing door pay back faster than almost any other capital item in a pub.
- Ice machines are a large and invisible load — site them away from heat sources and keep the condensers clean.
- Kitchen extraction, if you serve food, is a separate and substantial load worth treating as its own exercise.
Waste for pubs and bars
Glass is the whole conversation.
Glass is heavy, bulky and endlessly generated. Put it in a general waste bin and you fill the bin fast, pay for the lift, and in many contracts risk weight-based surcharges as well. A separate glass collection is almost always cheaper, and in some areas glass is collected at a reduced rate because it has recycling value.
- Separate glass collection — the single most effective change most pubs can make to a waste bill.
- Food waste, if you serve food, is a separate stream and heavy enough to justify segregation on its own.
- Cardboard from deliveries should be flattened into mixed recycling, not general.
- Used cooking oil, if you have a fryer, must go to a registered carrier and is often collected free — never pay premium disposal rates for it.
Weekend peaks are a right-sizing problem, not a price problem
A pub generates most of its waste across three days. If your bin overflows on Sunday and sits half empty by Thursday, the answer is usually a Monday collection and a larger container rather than a cheaper rate.
Insurance for pubs and bars
Licensed premises carry exposures a general policy will not cover.
Licensed premises are underwritten differently, and for good reason: alcohol, late hours and crowds change both the frequency and the nature of claims. The covers that matter most are the ones a generic packaged policy often leaves out — loss of licence, assault on staff, and adequate public liability limits for a venue with high footfall and entertainment.
- Employers’ liability — legally required, and bar staff working late carry a distinct risk profile.
- Public liability — check the limit against your capacity and any entertainment licence conditions.
- Loss of licence — covers the income impact if your licence is suspended or revoked.
- Assault cover for staff, which is a real and frequently omitted exposure in late-night venues.
- Contents and stock — including cellar stock, and glass for windows and mirrors.
- Business interruption — with an indemnity period reflecting a realistic refit, not a default year.
Broadband for pubs and bars
Card, gaming, jukebox, EPOS and sport — one line, no tolerance for failure.
A modern pub runs more connected services than most retailers: card terminals, EPOS, gaming and amusement machines, digital jukeboxes, sports broadcasting and customer wifi. Losing the line on a match night is not a recoverable evening, which makes resilience worth more than headline speed.
- Business fibre at £25–£60 a month is normally ample bandwidth. Buy the support, not the speed.
- 4G/5G failover is strongly justified — it keeps card payments alive through an outage.
- Keep customer wifi on a separate network from EPOS and card terminals.
- Check what your sports broadcast provider actually requires; some services have their own connectivity conditions.
Pubs and bars: frequently asked questions
Why is our electricity bill high when trade is quiet?+
Because most of a pub’s consumption is baseload rather than trade-driven. Cellar cooling, ice machines and bottle coolers run continuously whether you have two customers or two hundred. That is why a quiet week barely reduces the bill, and why cellar cooling maintenance and insulation deliver more saving than anything you can change behind the bar.
Do we really need a separate glass collection?+
In almost every case, yes. Glass is heavy and bulky, so it fills a general waste bin quickly and you pay per lift regardless of what is in it — and some contracts add weight surcharges on top. A dedicated glass collection is usually cheaper overall, and in some areas it is collected at a reduced rate because the material has value.
What is loss of licence cover?+
It covers the financial impact if your premises licence is suspended, revoked or not renewed — the loss of trade, and in some wordings the reduction in the value of the business. It is specific to licensed premises and is frequently missing from generic packaged policies, so check whether it is on your schedule rather than assuming.
Last reviewed 3 September 2026. Price ranges are indicative market figures to benchmark against, not a quote.
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