After-work drinks in decline outside London, peers told

Home moving appears to person led to a bigger diminution successful after-work drinking successful metropolis centres extracurricular London, a Lords committee has heard.

Urban economist Paul Swinney told peers that pub spending information suggested that successful the capital, post-work drinks person switched from Friday to Thursday.

But a akin displacement could not beryllium seen successful different ample British cities, helium added, wherever spending successful bars was much apt to displacement into the weekend.

He besides added that a diminution successful city-centre spending had not been matched by a akin summation for precocious streets extracurricular municipality centres.

Mr Swinney, manager of the Centre for Cities deliberation tank, was among assorted experts giving grounds to a peculiar House of Lords committee acceptable up earlier this twelvemonth to analyse the interaction of distant and hybrid moving successful the UK.

Last month, the deliberation vessel published research connected the pre and post-pandemic spending patterns of city-centre workers successful pubs and bars astir their places of work, by comparing recognition and debit paper information from 2019 and 2024.

The investigation showed that during that period, the stock of play spending successful pubs successful cardinal London connected Fridays fell, whilst connected Thursdays it rose, making it the astir most fashionable nighttime of the week.

But a akin signifier was not seen successful the information for 9 different ample British cities, including Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol, Newcastle and Sheffield.

Surveys person shown Friday has go the astir fashionable time for bureau workers to enactment from home, with attendance during the mediate of the week returning to much akin levels to earlier the Covid pandemic.

Explaining the spending information to peers connected Thursday, Mr Swinney said that successful London "the Friday nighttime portion hasn't truthful overmuch gone away, it's conscionable shifted to a Thursday".

"But erstwhile we looked astatine different ample cities, that wasn't the case," helium added.

"It appeared from the information that we person that the post-work portion has reduced successful those different places.

"Actually the displacement seems to spell into the weekend, which seems to beryllium workers coming successful from a leisure perspective, alternatively than going retired aft work".

The information analysed by the Centre for Cities showed that 32% of play pub spending successful large cities extracurricular London present takes spot connected a Saturday, suggesting workers are much apt to instrumentality connected weekends to socialise than successful the capital.

Elsewhere successful the session, Mr Swinney said a diminution successful city-centre spending since the emergence successful distant and hybrid moving had not been matched by an equivalent emergence successful spending connected "local High Streets".

"That mightiness person happened a small bit, but surely not to the grade that radical were suggesting [during the pandemic]," helium told the committee.

He added that suburban supermarkets had "probably been the biggest winner" from the displacement successful spending patterns since Covid.

He said much flexible moving patterns had led to immoderate contiguous benefits for workers, including reduced question outgo and much flexibility.

But helium added it could beryllium "two, three, 10 years down the line" earlier the semipermanent interaction connected economical productivity could beryllium decently assessed.