Excellent 5* RatingCompare and switch your pub's water supplier
Compare business water suppliers now!
Compare NowCompare business water suppliers for pubs and see how much switching could save. Free to check, no obligation.
- Compare the market in 2 minutes
- Typical pubs save £400-£1,500 a year
- No saving found, no fee
Compare business water suppliers now!
Compare NowBusiness Water for Pubs
The water bill for a large busy pub isn’t a small line item. It’s the third biggest utility cost after gas and electricity, and it’s the one most publicans haven’t looked at in years.
You can switch suppliers. Pubs and pub groups have had that right in England since 2017. Most haven’t used it.
This page covers where pub water costs actually come from, how pub groups and pub groups move to a new supplier, and the places water quietly disappears without anyone noticing.
- England’s non-household water market opened to competition on 1 April 2017 under the Water Act 2014.
- Around 20 retailers are licensed by Ofwat to supply pubs, pub groups and pub groups.
- Wholesale supply still comes from regional water companies (Thames Water, Severn Trent, Yorkshire Water, and others).
- Pub groups contract directly, pub groups can contract centrally for volume pricing, and independent pubs procure via the landlord.
- Typical secondary-pub water spend runs £1,200-£3,000 a year; primaries typically £500-£1,200.
- The three biggest savings levers: surface water drainage rebates, meter validation, and tariff reviews.
Why pubs pay more for water than they should
A wet-led pub uses water in places an office never does. CIP cycles on the beer lines run weekly. Glasswashers cycle every few minutes during service. Toilet flushes can hit four figures on a Saturday night. Cellar drains take spillage and washdown. None of that is wrong — what’s wrong is paying retail margin and standing charges that haven’t been benchmarked against the open market in years.
For tied or leased pubs there’s a second issue: the pub company often pre-selects the water retailer, and the landlord (the publican, not the property owner) inherits whatever rate was negotiated for a portfolio of 800 sites. That rate is often middling at best.
The five places pubs overpay
| What’s costing you | Why it adds up |
|---|---|
| Cellar washdown billed as foul effluent | Spilt beer and cellar washdown add organic load. Some pubs end up on a higher trade-effluent banding than their actual loading justifies. |
| Toilet volume on default flush rate | A pub with two cubicles per side can flush 1,200 litres on a Saturday. Default supply tariffs charge full retail margin on every cubic metre. |
| Beer-line cleaning chemicals & rinse water | Weekly CIP cycles use far more rinse water than the spec sheet says. Multiplied across 52 weeks it’s a measurable line item — and not always billed correctly. |
| Pub-co panel contract you didn’t pick | Tied tenancies often inherit a pre-negotiated retailer rate. It’s rarely the sharpest available, and most publicans don’t realise they can opt out. |
| Beer garden tap left on or leaking | External taps and irrigation lines drip for months unnoticed. A drip survey catches this before the bill does. |
Can pubs and pub groups switch water supplier?
Yes, and the mechanism is different depending on who’s signing the contract.
An pub group is its own legal entity, so it can enter a water contract directly — no council approval needed. Pub groups (pub groups) can contract centrally for every pub in the trust, which usually unlocks better volume pricing. Maintained pubs sit inside the group procurement, so switching is done through the landlord rather than the individual pub.
The 12 retailers below are all licensed by Ofwat to supply non-household water in England. Pricing, service, and pub-sector experience vary — most trusts shortlist three and go to a simple comparison exercise.
Routes to procurement
Three ways operators in this sector typically bring a new water contract in. Each comes with its own trade-off between control, effort and how sharp the price lands.
Pubs water FAQs
I’m on a tied or leased pub-co contract — can I still change water supplier?
In most tied agreements you can. The pub-co rarely owns the water contract; it just preferred a retailer for ease. Your tenancy will spell out what’s tied (usually beer, sometimes gas) and water almost never makes that list.
Will switching disrupt service or the cellar?
No. The wholesaler still owns the pipes, the meter, the pressure. Only the company sending the invoice changes. There is no engineer visit and no shut-off.
How are pub trade-effluent charges calculated and can they be reduced?
Trade effluent banding is set when the contract starts and rarely revisited. If your current effluent loading is lower than the band assumes — most pubs’ are — you can apply for a re-banding and recover historic charges.
My beer garden has its own tap. Should I have a sub-meter?
Sub-metering external taps is worth it where you irrigate or wash down outside frequently. It can also remove drainage charges from rainwater that returns to soakaways or grass rather than the public sewer.
How do tied vs free-of-tie pubs differ for water procurement?
Tied pubs often default to the pub-co’s preferred panel retailer. Free-of-tie pubs choose their own. Either way, the publican (not the pub-co) is on the contract and can switch.
Is it worth switching for a small village pub?
A small independent pub typically saves £400–£900 a year. A busy high-street pub saves £900–£1,500. A multi-pub group saves £2,000–£5,000 a year. Worth it.
What do I need to send you to get a quote?
A recent water bill. The SPID, annual cubic-metre volume and current retailer are all on it. Two working days from receipt to a quoted alternative.
