Bars & mobile bars hire
Dry-hire counters to fully staffed and stocked bar operations. Delivered, set up and collected by suppliers who cover your patch.
Mobile bar hire ranges from £150 to £350 for a dry-hire bar counter to free-of-charge fully staffed bars that make their margin on drink sales (usually with a minimum spend or guest number). Allow 1m of bar frontage per 35 guests. Licensing (TEN) is needed to sell alcohol.
Bar hire spans two different deals. Dry hire is furniture: you rent the counter, back bar and coolers, and run it yourselves with your own drinks. Staffed bar operators bring the lot (stock, staff, ice, glassware, licence) and often charge nothing up front, making their money on sales above an agreed minimum. In between sit cash-bar and account-bar hybrids: pay-per-drink for guests, or a tab to a limit you set.
The licensing line is simple: giving drinks away free needs no licence; selling them needs an authorisation, usually a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) from the local council at least 10 working days ahead. Professional bar operators normally handle the TEN as part of the package: confirm whose name it is in.
PLANNING RATIOAllow 1 metre of bar frontage per 35 guests so the queue never becomes the event.
What it costs
| Item | Typical guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dry-hire bar counter 3m | £150–£350 | |
| LED / lit bar unit | £250–£500 | |
| Staffed bar (min spend deal) | £0 + minimum spend | typical min £1,000–£2,500 |
| Draught dispense setup | £150–£400 |
Guide prices exclude VAT and vary with season, region and site access. Quotes from suppliers are always the real number.
Bars & mobile bars hire across the launch corridor
Local pages for every corridor town, with the same honest ratios and local site knowledge.
Bars & mobile bars hire: questions organisers ask
Do I need a licence for a wedding bar?
If drinks are free to guests, no licence is needed. The moment anything is sold (cash bar, card bar, token bar) the event needs an authorisation, normally a Temporary Event Notice costing £21 and lodged at least 10 working days before. Staffed bar companies usually arrange this themselves.
How does a free staffed bar work?
The operator brings bar, stock, staff and licence at no hire charge, and keeps the drink revenue. They will want confidence in sales: typically 80+ adult guests and 4+ hours of service, sometimes a minimum-spend guarantee that you top up if takings fall short.
How much bar space do I need?
One metre of serving frontage per 35 guests is the planning rule: a 140-guest party wants a 4m bar with two or three staff at peak. Doubling frontage at the toast and first-dance surge beats doubling staff behind a short counter.
