The UK nightlife industry is under real pressure. Post-Covid recovery has been slow, the cost of living crisis has hit hard, business energy bills have gone up, and staffing issues continue to stack up. But while UK venues struggle to stay afloat, nightlife in other parts of the world looks completely different.
Cities like Tokyo and Singapore are home to venues that are not just somewhere to drink anymore. There is a whole experience built around them — and the UK has a lot to learn from what they are doing.
In this episode of After Dark: The Night Time Economy, host Sam Dimond — business owner of Spotlight Sound, working across bars, clubs and venues with sound, lighting and all the technical elements that shape a night out — sits down with Rumcy Supra, founder of Supra Design. Rumcy specialises in architecture, interiors, branding, project management, urban design, safety and placemaking, and has seen firsthand how nightlife design works globally.
The Pressure on UK Nightlife
The UK still has not properly bounced back post-Covid. The cost of living crisis, rising business energy bills, staffing issues — all of these things stack up and place enormous strain on the night-time economy.
But the structural and cultural challenges run deeper than the current economic climate. According to Rumcy Supra, the UK has had a pub bar culture from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s — and that mindset has shaped how venues are built, run, and invested in.
The problem is not just the culture itself. It is also the structure of the buildings. The UK has Victorian, Edwardian, and Georgian-style properties which do not easily accommodate the kind of modern, immersive nightlife experiences that venues in other parts of the world are building.
What Global Venues Are Doing Differently
When you look at international venues — in Tokyo, Singapore, and beyond — what jumps out immediately from a design angle is that they are much more architectural and spatial in their focus.
Architecture and Space as the Foundation
International venues are built with a vertical structure. Venue owners and investors integrate spatial design and technology from the very moment they lay the first brick. In contrast, many other venues treat design as an additional feature rather than a core part of the build.
These venues also multi-zone each of their spaces, creating a clear flow through material and lighting. And crucially, they know how to create a narrative — a branding — that runs through every element of the space.
Woon Marquee and Souq: The Super Club Standard
Two venues that exemplify this approach are Woon Marquee and Souq. Souq is an international brand based in Singapore, Las Vegas, and Tokyo. Both venues heavily invest in conceptual design, focusing on the flow of guests, suppliers, and technology throughout the space.
Woon Marquee — which is situated in a shopping mall — has spent around 200 million yen on feature lighting and sound system alone. In addition to that investment, they have developed the interior space through zoning with lighting and ambient sound. The entire immersive experience is what they sell from the very beginning.
These are called super clubs for a very good reason. They invest their revenues back into the experience. The lighting, the sound, the interior — it is all part of a sensory experience that is built in, not bolted on.
The UK Approach by Comparison
In the UK, the focus tends to be much more on budget and on who the key DJ is. There is not much experience involved. The same rigs, the same layouts, the same brief — just get it in and get it open. As Sam Dimond puts it: “It’s the same brief, just get it in and get it open.”
Why UK Buildings Are a Major Barrier
Even where there is appetite for change, the UK’s building stock presents a serious obstacle. Most venues — especially in London, which has the best nightlife experience in the UK — are in outdated properties. Owners are not willing to strip them out, and the cost of doing so is significant.
Rumcy Supra explains that the strip-out cost of a Victorian building can be the equivalent of a complete new greenfield project — a project built entirely from the ground up. That is the gamble that even international investors are fearful of when considering the UK market.
The nature of these old buildings means you almost have to strip the entire space out and refit it. From a lighting perspective, a plumbing perspective, the costs are enormous. Add to that the price of materials, compliance requirements, and the general pressures on the hospitality industry, and it becomes clear why so many venues struggle to make the leap.
Designing Around Compliance Instead of Experience
One of the most telling observations from Rumcy Supra is that in the UK, designers end up doing the design around the compliance rather than doing the design from an experience perspective. The result is that you are working to the red tape rather than working toward what you actually want to achieve for the guests.
Sound and lighting are not just technical elements — they are emotional tools that drive the way people feel in a space. The sound controls the energy levels, and the visuals tell the story. But in the UK, technical teams can only work with the venue they have got, and that starts with the architecture of the building.
International investors looking at the UK market are facing challenges from a material compliance perspective which shapes the design process — and they are often quite fearful of the UK market as a result.
The Shift Towards Experience-Led Nightlife
The market is changing — and it is changing fast. The current market is all about what the future holds. Gen Z, for example, loves immersive experiences that are led by design from a sensory perspective, integrating lighting, audio, and visuals. They want something innovative.
Importantly, this does not necessarily have to relate to nightlife alone. It could relate to food, dining experiences, and activities. Venues like Woon Marquee and Souq have an experience that goes beyond nightlife. They do not consider themselves purely a nightlife venue. Within their spaces and zones, they offer activity-based experiences, merchandising, and dining. It is almost like a venue of art — a complete different kind of experience.
There has been some change in the UK over the last five to ten years, with more experience-led and games-type venues where people can go out and be together but have an activity or something to do. The cultural shift is moving away from just going out and drinking toward going out and doing something.
Ministry of Sound Leading the Way
Big names in the UK are starting to take note. Ministry of Sound, for example, has begun incorporating gym-infused nightlife experiences and workspace into their offering. This is the direction the market is heading.
The Importance of Flow
The key is not just to add experiences on top of each other. It is to build a composed design experience rather than simply integrating things that may not flow together. At Woon Marquee, for example, the nightclub, the merchandising, and the dining experiences all serve a purpose. Someone might have had a night out, they danced, they are hungry — so the dining experience is there to meet them at that point in their journey. It is about tailoring an experience and creating a flow, not just adding on extras.
This approach keeps people in the space for longer, taking them through a longer journey and a longer story. It means more revenue, but it also means a deeper connection with the venue.
What Happens If UK Venues Don’t Change
Those businesses that have not evolved and do not see the bigger picture are now being sold to gyms or repurposed as office spaces. A prime example is a venue known as the print site — a previously industrial-style nightlife venue that closed in 2023. It has since been converted into a cultural office space and exhibition space. As Rumcy Supra notes, that venue had real potential had they invested more heavily into the interior.
There is a clear decline in the drinking culture and the pub culture. At the same time, there is an increase in wellness and community — experiences led by activity rather than alcohol. Venues that do not integrate technology and adapt to this shift will continue to lose ground.
The UK has genuine strengths to build on. London is known for its tourism and is a financial hub with great footfall. The whole of the UK has a strong history of tourism and great spots that could be better utilised. But that potential will only be unlocked if the industry is willing to change.
Expert Insights from Rumcy Supra
Rumcy Supra, founder of Supra Design, specialises in architecture, interiors, branding, project management, urban design, safety and placemaking. Here are some of her key observations from the conversation:
“International venues are much more architectural and spatial focused. Venue owners and investors integrate spatial design and technology from the moment they build.”
“You’re almost doing the design around the compliance rather than doing the design from an experience perspective — which is the essence.”
“The strip-out cost is probably the equivalent of having to accommodate a complete new greenfield project. This is the gamble investors have.”
“The most important thing of all is having an investor who aligns with their vision from a longevity impact perspective rather than just going for a short-term goal.”
“None of these super clubs built the entire concept overnight or within one moment. It develops over years. That is what the UK market really needs to focus on.”
“Technology is evolving at a mind-blowing rate. Accepting that and integrating it is what will future-proof every business.”
Pro Tips for UK Venue Owners
Based on the discussion, here are the key actions that UK venue owners and investors should consider:
- Invest time in developing a narrative and a concept before anything else. The design, the team, and the technology should all serve that narrative.
- Bring together the right team of architects, lighting designers, and AV specialists — and make sure that team is working toward the narrative, not just toward compliance.
- Think about collaboration. Nightclubs could be part of hotels. Restaurants could work with activity-based businesses. Collaboration and coming together is the way forward.
- Look at who the future guests are going to be and what the current market demands, rather than defaulting to what has always been done.
- Think about the longevity of the concept, not just the short-term return. The world’s great super clubs did not build their concepts overnight — they developed over years.
- Do not dig into what you have always been used to. Look further afield and work with people who can help you see what is possible.
Common Mistakes UK Venues Make
- Treating design — including sound, lighting, and spatial design — as an add-on or afterthought rather than integrating it from the very start of a build.
- Focusing on who the headline DJ is rather than on the experience of the space itself.
- Using the same rigs, the same layouts, and the same brief every time, rather than thinking about what the space could genuinely achieve.
- Designing around compliance rather than around the guest experience, resulting in venues that meet regulations but fail to create an emotional journey.
- Taking a short-term investment view rather than committing to a long-term concept with the right team and the right vision.
- Not keeping up with the shift in consumer behaviour — away from a purely drinking-led culture and toward wellness, community, and experience-led activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the After Dark podcast about?
After Dark: The Night Time Economy is hosted by Sam Dimond, business owner of Spotlight Sound, a company that works across bars, clubs and venues in the UK with sound, lighting and all the technical elements that shape a night out. The series explores the back end of nightlife and the pressures venues are under, as well as what other countries are doing differently.
Who is Rumcy Supra?
Rumcy Supra is the founder of Supra Design. She works across architecture, interiors, branding, and project management, specialising in urban design, safety and placemaking. She has seen firsthand how nightlife design works globally.
What are Woon Marquee and Souq?
Woon Marquee and Souq are international super clubs cited in the podcast as examples of world-class nightlife design. Souq operates across Singapore, Las Vegas, and Tokyo. Woon Marquee is notably situated inside a shopping mall and has invested around 200 million yen in its feature lighting and sound system alone. Both venues are built around immersive, conceptual design with multi-zone spaces, dining, merchandising, and activity-based experiences.
Why is the UK nightlife industry struggling?
The UK has not properly bounced back post-Covid. The cost of living crisis, rising energy bills, and staffing issues all compound existing structural problems. The UK’s building stock — largely Victorian, Edwardian, and Georgian — makes it expensive and difficult to create modern, immersive nightlife experiences. On top of that, compliance requirements often force designers to work around regulations rather than toward the best possible guest experience.
What does the future of UK nightlife look like?
The future lies in experience-led venues that integrate lighting, audio, and visual design from the ground up, offer more than just a drinking experience, and are built around a clear narrative and concept. Collaboration between different types of businesses — nightclubs with hotels, restaurants with activity-based venues — is seen as a key route forward. Technology will play an increasingly important role, and businesses that do not integrate it risk being left behind.
Conclusion
The gap between UK nightlife and the global super club model is real — and it is getting wider. The structural challenges are genuine: old buildings, tight compliance frameworks, rising costs, and a market that has historically treated nightlife as something to be tolerated rather than celebrated.
But the direction of travel is clear. The market is shifting toward immersive, experience-led venues built around a concept, a narrative, and a long-term vision. Venues like Woon Marquee and Souq show what is possible when design, technology, and investment are aligned from the very start.
The UK has real strengths — a strong tourism history, great cities, genuine cultural assets. But as Rumcy Supra puts it, the industry needs to stop worrying about taking risks and start building for the future. Otherwise, the venues that fail to evolve risk becoming the next gym or office conversion.
To hear the full conversation, listen to After Dark: The Night Time Economy with Sam Dimond and Rumcy Supra, founder of Supra Design.