By Latest pub figures dramatically fall citing ‘lowest on record’
According to the latest research figures, the number of pubs in England and Wales has continued to fall, to the lowest level on record.
The BBC reported there were 39,970 pubs in June, down by more than 7,000 since 2012, according to information provided by real estate consultancy Altus Group. The industry faces soaring prices and higher energy costs, it warned.
The government said it had slashed taxes to help, but over the last decade, thousands of pubs have closed, including supermarkets selling cheaper alcohol. The industry also complains of being too heavily taxed.
Figures in 2019 from the Office for National Statistics suggested the sector was expanding for the first time in a decade. It declined during the pandemic, due to lockdowns and strict social distancing rules.
According to Altus, 400 pubs in England and Wales closed last year and some 200 shut in the first half of 2022. This would bring the total number of pubs down to its lowest since Altus’s records began in 2005.
Robert Hayton, head of Altus in the UK, said: “Whilst pubs proved remarkably resilient during the pandemic, they’re now facing new headwinds grappling with the cost of doing business in a crisis through soaring energy costs, inflationary pressures, and tax rises.”
The research suggested the West Midlands saw the biggest number of pub closures in the first six months of 2022, with 28 shutting, followed by London and the East of England which both lost 24.
Altus said that pubs that had “disappeared” had either been demolished or converted for other purposes, citing they were “lost forever”.
The chief executive of UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls, said the pub closure figures were “truly shocking but will come as no surprise to many in the industry”.
“We need the government to take urgent steps to remove barriers to growth, help to tackle the cost crisis we’re facing, and support more people into work and training,” she said.
“Without this help, we could see thousands more pubs lost from their communities in the next few years.”
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said: “When pubs are forced to close it’s a huge loss to the local community, and these numbers paint a devastating picture of how pubs are being lost in villages, towns, and cities across the country.
“As a sector, we have just weathered the hardest two years on memory, and we now face the challenge of extreme rising costs,” she added.
“It’s essential that we receive relief to ease these pressures or we really do risk losing more pubs year on year.”
