A report by the owners of a Wrexham nightclub highlights the late night leisure sector in the UK is back with a bang, with the public's appetite for nights out higher than ever.

The quarterly REKOM Night Index, commissioned by club and bar operator, REKOM UK - home to ATIK in Wrexham, shows that despite the devastating impact of Covid-19, including the closure of nightclubs for 16 months, the average consumer spend, frequency and duration of nights out remains robust.

Of those surveyed, just under half of 18 to 24-year-olds felt they were unfairly restricted from going out during Covid-19, with 80% saying they are keen to go out more to those venues that were shut for a long period because of the pandemic.

The return of the night out signals a return to a normal social life. Spending time with friends (65%) was revealed to be the most popular reason for going on a night out, with the next being to relieve stress (23.6%) and to enjoy shared experiences (23.1%). Interestingly, going out to meet a partner was lower down the priority list, with just 5.7% saying this was important.

People are clearly enthusiastic about the importance of the night out culture, with more than half of those surveyed (56.4%) agreeing that going to nightclubs is an integral part of growing up. Furthermore, two fifths (40.1%) said that going clubbing plays a crucial role in developing social skills as they move into adulthood. More than a third of consumers polled (36.7%) said that going out to nightclubs is helpful in learning to socialise as an adult in a controlled environment.

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When it comes to spending on a night out, Brits spend £68.03 (March 2019: £68.68), with the night lasting four hours and 17 minutes on average (March 2019: 4 hours 35 minutes). We are going out exactly as often as we did pre-pandemic, with people reporting 1.2 times a week for March 2022 and 2019 alike.

REKOM UK's chairman, Peter Marks, said: "We're so pleased to be welcoming guests back to our venues and returning to what we do best. It's fantastic to see such positive public perception around going out, something that is fully reflected by the strong business performance we have seen over the past few months.

"People have clearly missed going out. Nightclubs are an important outlet for people to enjoy themselves, and we can see this with spend, frequency and duration of a night out all bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels or better.

"What stood out to me more than anything is the strong positive reaction people have expressed to the night out – whether that's enthusiasm for returning to pre-pandemic social lives for the younger generation, or the sense of nostalgia from those that might not be going as frequently as they used to.

"There's no doubt that the late-night leisure sector is back in full force and people are ready to enjoy themselves."

• The REKOM Night Index surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,358 18+ year olds, including 506 18 to 21-year-olds from March 15-21, 2022.