How many pubs email addresses we hold
Every UK nation is included, and the list mixes the three ways pubs are run: owner-operated free houses, tenants and leaseholders tied to a pub company, and managed houses where a salaried manager runs the pub for a group or brewer. Named contact emails usually belong to the licensee, the owner of a free house or the general manager. Company emails are the pub's own address, the one printed on the website for table bookings and function enquiries. Email coverage is lower than in office-based sectors: roughly one pub in three on our database has a named contact email, because many licensees run the business from a personal phone and never publish a work address. If you need to reach every pub in an area, plan to combine email with post or phone, and use email for the pubs where you hold a named address.
| Email data | Count |
|---|---|
| Named contact email addresses (a person's own work email) | 6,929 |
| General company email addresses (info@, office@ and similar) | 2,201 |
| Named contacts (with or without an email) | 18,258 |
| Pubs on our database | 22,126 |
Some businesses have both a named contact email and a company email, so the two figures overlap. Your free count shows exactly how many pubs you can reach by email for the area and job titles you choose.
Add other licensed venues
Most suppliers to pubs also sell to other licensed premises. These are kept as separate lists, so you can add them to your pubs email list or leave them out:
| Category | Named contact emails | Company emails | Businesses on file |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bars | 564 | 297 | 1,792 |
| Wine bars | 278 | 165 | 914 |
| Pub restaurants (pub food) | 279 | 98 | 1,317 |
| Breweries | 332 | 226 | 725 |
| Pub management companies | 15 | 7 | 39 |
| Social clubs | 915 | 272 | 5,048 |
Can you email pubs? The PECR rules
In the UK, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) treat business email addresses in two ways. Limited companies, LLPs, public bodies and most charities are "corporate subscribers": you can email them without asking first, as long as you say who you are and give an easy way to opt out. Sole traders and ordinary partnerships are treated as individuals: you need their consent before sending marketing emails.
How UK pubs are set up, and what that means for email
The Office for National Statistics counts 37,350 pubs workplaces in the UK (UK Business Counts 2026, SIC 56302). Under the email marketing rules (PECR), what matters is the legal form of the business:
| Legal form | UK workplaces | Share | Email marketing rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limited companies and LLPs | 29,570 | 79% | Email allowed without prior consent, with an opt-out |
| Sole traders | 4,675 | 13% | Prior consent needed before emailing |
| Partnerships | 2,805 | 8% | Prior consent needed before emailing |
| Charities, clubs and other non-profits | 300 | 1% | Email allowed without prior consent, with an opt-out |
Around four in five pub workplaces counted by ONS belong to limited companies (which includes the big pub companies and brewers that own managed houses) or to clubs and other non-profits. Those can be emailed without prior consent, as long as you say who you are and include a working unsubscribe.
The rest matter more in pubs than in most sectors. The sole traders and partnerships in the table are mostly tenants and leaseholders: a landlord, or a couple, running a pub under an agreement with a pub company. The building belongs to a company, but the business behind the bar is theirs, and it's the legal form of that business that decides the rule. So you need their consent before sending marketing emails.
Practical tip: a pub's name tells you nothing about its legal form. "The Red Lion" could be a managed house of a national group or a husband-and-wife partnership. Ask us to flag records with a limited company name attached, email those, and reach the rest by post or phone first, asking if they'd like to hear from you by email.
More detail, including what UK GDPR adds, is in our guide to buying a business email list.
Who to email at pubs
Who decides depends on how the pub is run. In a free house the licensee buys almost everything; in a managed house the manager runs the pub but head office chooses the suppliers:
| Job title | What they decide | How to approach them |
|---|---|---|
| Licensee, landlord or owner (free houses) | Drinks ranges, EPOS and card machines, insurance, energy, entertainment, refurbishments | Owner-operators decide alone and quickly, but they read email in short gaps. Say what it costs, what it saves or earns, and how easy it is to try. |
| Tenant or lessee (tied pubs) | Food, staffing, marketing, events, cleaning, many non-drinks services | Usually tied to the pub company for beer and often other drinks, so pitch what they're free to buy: food, marketing, events, local services. |
| General manager (managed pubs) | Rotas, local events and promotions, small local purchases | Rarely chooses suppliers. Useful for local services and as an introduction to the area manager; don't expect a contract decision. |
| Bar or cellar manager | Cellar routines, line cleaning, glassware, bar stock levels, guest beers in free houses | Practical and hands-on. Lead with the problem you fix: fobbing, wasted beer, cellar temperature, slow service on busy nights. |
| Head chef or kitchen manager | Food suppliers, menu ingredients, kitchen equipment and servicing | Chefs care about quality, consistency and delivery days. Offer samples or a trial order rather than a brochure. |
| Operations or area manager (pub groups) | Suppliers and trials across several pubs, standards, rollouts | The route into small and mid-sized groups. Propose a trial in one or two of their pubs with a clear measure of success. |
What the generic inbox reaches
The pub's own inbox is built for customers: table bookings, party enquiries, lost property, and job applications. It's often read by whoever is on shift, and supplier emails get skipped. Use it for things the whole team can act on, such as a quiz night service or a local event, and put the offer in the subject line. For anything that needs the licensee's decision, a named email or a phone call works far better.
What a record looks like
This is a made-up example showing the fields you get. Ask for a free sample and we'll send you real records for the area you cover.
| Business name | The Example Arms Ltd (made-up example) |
| Contact name | Dave Holroyd |
| Job title | Licensee |
| Named contact email | [email protected] |
| Company email | [email protected] |
| Address | Example Street, Halifax, HX1 |
| Telephone | 0113 496 0000 |
| Website | www.example.co.uk |
| Category | Public houses |
| Employee size band | 11 to 20 |
Email subject lines that work for pubs
Examples to adapt. Each is written for how pubs actually work; keep yours short, specific and honest about what's inside.
- Fill Tuesday night: quiz hosted for £X a weekPubs struggle with quiet midweek nights; naming the night and the price makes the value obvious.
- Cellar running warm? Same-day call-outs in [town]Speaks to a real fear: warm cellars mean bad beer and lost sales. Local and urgent.
- Your Christmas menu printed by 1 NovemberLicensees plan Christmas months ahead, and a clear deadline gets a reply.
- Card machine fees: what [Pub name] could saveMargins are tight and card payments are a big share of takings. Personalise it honestly or not at all.
- A local guest ale for [Pub name] this monthFree houses like to stock local beer; the subject line works if you really are local.
- Book your big-screen setup before the tournamentSport fills pubs. Send well before the event, when there's still time to order and install.
When to email pubs
Pub people work late and start late. Most pubs open at lunchtime and close well after 11pm, so the quiet window for paperwork is the morning before opening, and the quietest days are early in the week.
- Good: Monday to Wednesday, mid-morning (roughly 9:30 to 11:30am), when licensees do orders, rotas and admin before the doors open. Some pubs close at lunchtime early in the week, which gives them more time to read.
- Avoid: Friday and Saturday (service and the weekend rush), Sunday (roasts and family trade), early mornings after a late night, and the evening shift, when nobody is reading email.
- Season: the Christmas run from late November to New Year is the busiest time of the year; get anything Christmas-related in front of them by September or October, then stay quiet. Avoid bank holiday weekends and the days of big sporting events, when pubs are full. January and early February are quiet trading months, which suits offers that cut costs or bring in custom.
Getting your emails into the inbox
Many independent pubs use the same consumer email services as the public, and their inboxes are often checked on a phone. Image-heavy newsletters with several links are the kind of email those filters push into promotions or junk folders. For a first contact, send a short plain-text email with one link, from a named person, and keep attachments such as price lists for the follow-up once they've replied.
The basics apply to every list: send from a properly set-up domain (SPF, DKIM and DMARC), start with small daily volumes, remove bounces straight away and include a one-click unsubscribe. Our deliverability checklist covers each step.
Pubs email list prices
You pay per record, and the price per record falls as the order grows:
| Number of records | Price per 1,000 |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 2,500 | £295 |
| 2,500 to 4,999 | £270 |
| 5,000 to 9,999 | £245 |
| 10,000 to 19,999 | £220 |
| 20,000 to 49,999 | £195 |
| 50,000 or more | £170 |
Other email lists
Pubs email list: frequently asked questions
How many pubs can I email?
We hold 6,929 named contact email addresses and 2,201 company email addresses for UK pubs, from 22,126 pubs on our database. Some pubs have both kinds of address, so the figures overlap. For pubs without an email address, we can supply postal addresses and phone numbers instead.
Can I email pub landlords without their consent?
It depends on who runs the pub. Pubs run by limited companies, including managed pubs owned by pub groups, can be emailed without prior consent if you identify yourself and offer an opt-out. Many tenants and leaseholders trade as sole traders or partnerships, and they need to have agreed first.
Can I email only free houses?
We can't promise to identify every pub's tenancy arrangement, but we can select independent single-site pubs and leave out multi-site groups, which removes most managed houses. Tell us what you sell and we'll suggest the best selection.
Is it worth emailing the managers of managed pubs?
For local services, yes. For drinks, equipment and contracts, the decision is usually made at head office, so email the operations or area manager, or add pub management companies (39 businesses) to your order.
Does the pubs email list include bars and pub restaurants?
Bars and pub restaurants are separate lists. Bars add 564 named contact emails and pub food restaurants add 279, and you can include either in the same order.
How much does an email list of pubs cost?
You pay per record: £295 per 1,000 for smaller orders, falling to £170 per 1,000 for 50,000 records or more (excluding VAT). Tell us which pubs you want and we'll send a free count and an exact price.