The leader of one of the North’s most prominent independent bar chains has warned that the UK’s late-night economy is sitting on a “house of cards,” with recent tax hikes, energy bills, and interrupted post-lockdown social habits triggering a critical industry downturn.
Martin Greenhow, Managing Director of the rock-and-roll indie cocktail chain MOJO, stated that the late-night sector has borne the brunt of a nationwide hospitality crisis, predicting further business closures across regional high streets unless economic pressures ease.
Drawing on over two decades of operation across sites in Leeds, Manchester, Harrogate, Nottingham, Sheffield, and Newcastlle, Greenhow pointed to a widening gap between average bar turnover and inflation-adjusted bases.
He argues that recent government policies—including rising National Insurance contributions, lower thresholds, and accelerating National Living Wage rates—have created a volatile environment where even minor extra pressures could prove fatal for struggling venues.
Despite the industry-wide squeeze, the independent operator highlights rigorous internal efficiency and a human-centric leadership philosophy as MOJO’s core survival metrics.
By treating work as a hosted party and actively mentoring young staff, Greenhow maintains that late-night hospitality serves a crucial societal role, building the vital face-to-face self-confidence that a generation heavily impacted by screen addiction and lockdowns drastically lacks.
We put a number of questions to Martin:
Cultivating Talent – you’ve previously noted that a bar is only as good as the team behind the stick. From a leadership perspective, what is your philosophy on investing in young staff, and how do you ensure that the gruelling hours of late-night hospitality build valuable, lifelong skills for team members?
Martin Greenhow said:
The two most important things to hospitality business are their guests and their staff. The key to keeping and retaining the former is selecting, training and nurturing the latter.
Traditionally hospitality has been an employer of the young, providing start out jobs for people or perhaps on occasion restart jobs when a career falters or an individual becomes disenchanted. Some stay a while, some find a home.
Historically MOJO has benefitted from longer staff retention than most companies. Currently we have one senior member of staff who was with us when MOJO opened in 1996 – albeit with a hiatus until he returned in 2019, another started as a bar back in 2012 and is now at the highest level within the company.
I like to think we’ve achieved this because we treat everyone equally and based on their individual merits alone. We train rigorously and whenever possible seek to promote from within. Beyond those basics we strive to make work fun – every night should be a party that you get to host. There are numerous skills I could list that are developed – guest service (of course), cocktail making, personal license training, practical numeracy and team leading to name a few, but in my opinion the most important thing a team member develops is self confidence. An ability to look someone new in the eye, smile, possibly shake hands and start a conversation. A capacity all too often lacking in many young people these days, born from lockdowns and turbo charged by our screen addiction, and one that unovercome will hinder their potential permanently.
The Transition & Scaling Structure – you transitioned from working the doors to taking control of the business structure and finances. Looking back, what was the single biggest operational challenge you had to fix to transition MOJO from a popular local bar into a scalable multi-site business?
Martin Greenhow said:
There have been many challenges over the years. You can look at systems, staffing, payroll, maintenance, and they all pose challenges but truthfully, I think the single biggest challenge for me, was me.
I had to adopt a different way to think and interact with the team.
When you are operating a single site business and you are “on the ground” and can see, feel and hear what is happening, it is much simpler. It is also much easier to simply step in and “do the job”. You can’t do that with multiple sites.
When you have multiple sites the first thing you need is trust. You need to trust the people you’ve put in place to do the job. You need to give them room to actually do it.
Inevitably things won’t be done necessarily exactly as you would have done them but I try to stick to a rule that if the method used had logic to it and the person doing it was operating with the best intentions then I can’t ask for more. The difference between their choice and mine is merely a matter of judgement – which isn’t to say that some people’s judgement simply isn’t up to the task but you will only find out if you give them room.
Systemising the “Soul”- MOJO is famous for its distinct rock n’ roll DNA, high-energy vibe, and quality cocktails. As you expanded across Manchester, Liverpool, Harrogate, and beyond, how did you systemise that unique ‘soul’ so it didn’t get diluted into a corporate, cookie-cutter chain?
Martin Greenhow said:
Again this comes down to people and trust.
Certain elements need to be kept the same so that you can leverage the strengths already developed, think drinks menus, decor styles and service standards etc.
However we’ve always tried to be conscious that even fairly close locations invariably have significant disparities in things like tastes and demographics.
Trust me, Leeds and Harrogate can be very very different!
Additionally the individual teams have their difference and rather than adopt a rigid “Have a nice day!” mantra we try to lean into leveraging the best in the teams we have. Hopefully letting their personalities and charm work for the greater good.
Navigating Industry Resilience – You were a powerful voice for the sector during the covid lockdowns. Several years on from that crisis, and now navigating a cost-of-living squeeze, how permanently altered is the UK nightlife industry? What core survival metrics have kept MOJO resilient?
Martin Greenhow said:
In a word I was about to say “irreparably”, but in truth the permanence of that word is overreach. Our industry, hospitality, is in a perilous position. All sectors are struggling – see attached graph from CGA/NIQ, but the late night sector – bars and nightclubs has borne the brunt of suffering. No one can have failed to notice the number of closures.
From nationals like Revolution and Brewdog to the complete demise of nightclubs in Harrogate, and rest assured there is more to come.
Many are currently little more than houses of cards and the slightest extra pressure could be fatal for them.
In reality whilst the cost of living crisis is a huge hurdle it pales compared to two other factors.
Firstly as previously mentioned, the damage done to a whole generation of young people by the panicked imposition of lockdown on them has profound repercussions for hospitality. Whilst they should have been mingling and meeting they were instead scrolling and swiping.
The formation of the social habits that have stood society in good stead for millennia were needlessly and destructively interrupted. Humans are social animals and we haven’t seen the final reckoning for the damage this has done but it won’t be just to hospitality.
Secondly the anti business, moronic, ideological policies inflicted upon businesses by the current (at time of writing) government. Not to bore the reader but they are directly responsible for National Insurance rates rising and contribution threshold falling, spiralling energy costs, doubling business rates, accelerating NLW and let’s not forget the new raft of employment laws to name but the headlines.
Look again at the graph. Look at the gap between the red line – base adjusted for inflation, and the pink line – average bar turnover. Now add in all those tax rises. Rocket science this ain’t but for those not of a Von Braun persuasion the gap is where businesses fail and jobs are lost.
I know I said this wasn’t a permanent situation but I don’t know how long it will last either. I suppose much of that relies of the political choices that are yet to be made. And there in lies the rub and our strategy.
We’ve chosen to not fight the battles we can’t win or influence. We have of course made the unavoidable cuts where necessary and focused on ensuring we are achieving the maximum efficiency from any situation.
In short we’ve applied the ethic of “Does it make the boat go faster?” which a colleague quoted having read about Ben Hunt‑Davis, a member of the GB Men’s Rowing Eight who won Olympic gold at the Sydney 2000 Games using it as a guiding principle.
Making sure nothing is wasted and the maximum return is achieved where ever possible.
No hubris, no ego, just efficiency.
Evolving Consumer Habits – How have you seen guest behaviour change over the last decade? Are you noticing a shift where people drink less but look for more interactive experiences—such as your cocktail masterclasses—and how is MOJO pivoting to capture that?
Martin Greenhow said:
I don’t ascribe to the view people are drinking less – certainly not due to health choices. I do believe as previously discussed that a cohort of society have had their social development interrupted, perhaps damaged.
It is logical therefore for overall social consumption to have dropped.
That said I believe the newest additions to our target audience are not fettered in the same way, and as they filter in and gain employment and increased earnings we will see a resurgence in our sector.
At least that is my hope.
There have been other changes, competitive socialising has definitely taken more than a foot hold and new games seem to be appearing regularly. It is however reassuring to see that old favourites like pool and darts are still incredibly popular. Perhaps everything is cyclical!
One change that I think is quite profound has been the way music is adopted by the populace.
Where once, due I suppose to music being purchased on LPs and CDs, people would have specific bands or genres that they leaned towards now due to the ubiquity of streaming tastes have become far more eclectic and dynamic.
The Future of the Brand – With successful expansions into major spaces like in Newcastle, what makes a city an “obvious MOJO location” today?
Martin Greenhow said:
At present our ambition is firmly set to riding out the storm.
Much as I would like to be scoping out new sites and making plans for new sites, the uncertainty in the economy would make that a fool’s errand.
Yet another reason Rachel why you won’t be seeing much in the line of growth just yet.
