Number of pubs falls by 7,000 in a decade

The number of pubs in England and Wales continues to fall and is at its lowest level on record this year, new research suggests.

There were 39,970 pubs in June, down more than 7,000 from 2012, property consultancy Altus Group said.

After battling through Covid, the industry is now facing rising prices and higher energy bills, she warned.

The government said it cut taxes to help, but industry groups have urged them to do more.

Thousands of pubs have closed over the past decade as younger people drink less, supermarkets sell cheaper alcohol and the industry complains about excessive taxes.

But in 2019, figures from the Office for National Statistics suggested the sector was expanding for the first time in a decade.

However, it has declined again during the pandemic as lockdowns have forced pubs to close or implement strict social distancing rules.

According to Altus, 400 pubs in England Wales closed last year and around 200 in the first half of 2022 as inflation began to hurt their profits.

Robert Hayton, Head of Altus in the UK, said: “While pubs have shown remarkable resilience during the pandemic, they are now facing new headwinds related to the cost of doing business in a crisis from rising energy costs, inflationary pressures and tax increases. ”

According to the research, the West Midlands saw the highest number of pub closures in the first six months of 2022, with 28 closures.

London and East England followed, both losing 24.

Altus said pubs that “disappeared” from the communities they once served were either demolished or converted for other uses, meaning they were “lost forever”.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said: “When pubs have to close it is a huge loss to the local community and these figures paint a devastating picture of pubs being lost in villages. Cities and towns across the country.

“As an industry, we have just weathered the toughest two years in living memory and are now faced with the challenge of skyrocketing costs,” she added.

“It’s important that we get relief to ease that pressure or we really risk losing more pubs year after year.”

According to research from the BBPA, the British Institute of Innkeeping and UK Hospitality, only 37% of hospitality businesses are currently making a profit.

The main culprits are rising energy, goods and labor costs.

Over the past week, pub bosses have also warned that rail strikes over the summer could hurt their profits and further weaken consumer demand.

The government said it could not control the “global factors” driving inflation but continued to support the hospitality sector.

“We have cut taxes for hundreds of thousands of businesses by increasing employment subsidies while cutting fuel taxes,” a spokesman said.

“We have also introduced a 50 per cent business rate relief for eligible high street businesses and prevented bill increases by freezing the business rate multiplier, giving businesses £4.6 billion over the next five years.