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The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
More than a quarter of British pubs have closed since 2000. Here's why
Recent figures from the British Beer and Pub Association show that pubs will close at the rate of one a day in the UK during 2025. This is just the latest chapter in a familiar story – more than a quarter of British pubs have closed since 2000. The cost of running a pub has risen dramatically. The ingredients used to brew beer all cost more, as do the business rates, rents, duties, utilities and wages required to operate a welcoming venue in which to serve it. Some publicans have reported utility bills doubling in a matter of months. Many pubs occupy prime locations and high-value buildings, which, coupled with larger floor space, means business rates can be high relative to turnover and profit. Meanwhile, food offerings, which had provided many pubs with a profitable alternative to a drinks-only model, have also been hit by rapid increases in costs. Supermarkets and delivery platforms now provide food and drink directly to consumers at prices few licensed venues can compete with. Even pubs that are economically viable are often more profitable when converted into residential or retail space. These economic challenges accompany wider cultural trends, such as the continued prevalence of home working, changes in drinking habits and competition from alternative forms of in-person and online leisure. We've researched pub closures in England and Wales to learn what the loss of pubs means for the communities who drink and gather in them. When pubs closed temporarily during COVID-19 lockdowns, many people realised that what they missed about pubs was not alcohol but the social contact pubs provided. Pubs have a clear social value. They offer a space for people to meet and interact and have been shown to help tackle loneliness and social isolation. Our research participants relayed stories of pub closure in relation to their own lives and communities: 'I've been consoled in there, I've consoled friends in there. We've chopped up family issues, work issues. We've drunk for the sake of drinking in there.' Pubs help people feel connected to a local place. When they close, they can become sites of mourning, a painful reminder of change and decline. One resident of a former colliery village in Nottinghamshire said of the pub she had once worked in – now derelict, fire-damaged and vandalised as it awaits redevelopment – that despite her wish that it had remained open, it was now better to 'knock it down' to 'put us out of our misery'. For many, pubs are a sort of bellwether for wider anxiety about social and generational change. The loss of pubs speaks to where 'we' might be heading as a nation or as a community. Our recent analysis of how the British press has reported on pub closures since 2000 shows that a sense of national identity under threat is a recurring theme. Both local and national newspapers have made repeated use of the word 'our' in this context, warning readers of the grave threat to 'our pubs' and 'our heritage', often invoking an idyllic image of rural life. However, much of this coverage has also praised the pub as a great leveller, as a place where people come together as a community to socialise despite their differences. Can pubs be saved? The Campaign for Real Ale, the leading consumer group for beer drinkers and pub goers, suggests changing planning and licensing laws to protect pubs at local and national levels, and more support and publicity for pubs to cater to changing markets. Others have more directly lobbied for duty cuts that give pubs a fighting chance against supermarkets benefiting from economies of scale, VAT exemptions and convenience. A hot meal served in a pub incurs a standard 20% rate of VAT, while a supermarket ready meal to be heated at home does not. The rationale for a tax cut to support pubs would rest on the social benefits they offer to communities, in contrast to supermarket-bought alcohol typically consumed at home. The Localism Act 2011 gave communities the right to bid to take pubs into community ownership, designating them as assets of community value. Yet while there are some terrific examples of community-owned pubs becoming both thriving businesses and a revived focal point for communities, residents in poorer areas lack the resources to sustain viable campaigns. In one village in our study, a pub listed as a going concern at £500,000 in fact sold as a development plot for over £660,000. A viability study suggested that an investment of £225,000, plus working capital of at least £20,000, would be needed to reopen the pub. The residents we spoke to all conceded that a purchase was far beyond the modest resources of the local community. While the loss of so many pubs is shocking, it obscures the fact that when other licensed venues, such as bars, restaurants and licensed cafes are factored in, the downward trend is flattened – and even reversed in some areas. This suggests a long-term diversification of the sector – the pub is no longer the only option when going out for a drink. This may also reflect a feeling that other hospitality venues better cater to different people and groups who may feel less at home in traditional pubs. Some interviewees told us that they felt craft brewery taprooms were more welcoming and family-friendly. Others found cafe-bars to have a more appealing mix of coffee, food and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. There's a long history of pubs adapting to serve new needs and markets. Pub is the Hub, for example, has supported rural pubs to incorporate everything from village shops and libraries to pizza ovens and IT skills hubs. There have been promising experiments with fitting pubs for co-working and meeting space. And micropubs can continue to offer the benefits of a convivial social space, in a back-to-basics approach that reduces the costs of running bigger venues. Pubs can and must evolve.
BBC News
11-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Pub closures: Landlords describe difficulties local taps face
Behind the bar at The King's Head in Pollington, east Yorkshire, Emma Baxter has a problem. She runs the pub in her evenings - but it makes no money. It is the last remaining pub in the village after another shut down, along with a greengrocer and the post office. She says she can't take a salary from the business."I run the pub for the love of it and for the fact I'm a village girl," she says."I'm a strong believer in the fact that it's the centre of the community and I said when I bought it I would keep it going."But my electricity bill has doubled in the last six months – where is that money going to come from?"Emma felt so strongly about the tough financial situation facing many pubs that she contacted Your Voice, Your BBC News - an initiative to share the stories that matter to you. According to the British Beer and Pub Association, the number of pubs in the UK has steadily decreased every year since 2000. Some 15,000 pubs have closed in that time, including 289 last year - the equivalent of six a week. The average price of a pint is set to increase from £4.80 to £5.01. Budget measures mean that pubs face a loss of 9p on each pint if they continue to charge the same pre-budget prices. This means the price of a pint will need to rise by 21p to £5.01 for pubs to maintain current 12p industry faced particular struggles during the Covid pandemic, but Emma believes things have deteriorated in the last two years - and it's left some pubs struggling to stay afloat. "We saw maybe one price increase a year if we were lucky [during Covid] - sometimes we didn't even see that," she says."Now we're seeing three for a year and we've got another one coming. That will be the second one in the last two months. So how much more is this going to happen?"At the same time as battling rising costs, she is attempting to entice customers in."I think everybody's trying their best - but you can't compromise the service and the quality that you give and the environment that you give."So you can't turn around at 9pm, turn all the lights off and make people sit around one bulb, you know. That's not what people come out for." Pubs operate under various business models. There are free houses, which are not owned by a brewery or landlord stipulating where landlords buy their beer from. These are often run by there are brewery-owned pubs, which generally only sell beers from that there are firms that own thousands of pubs and are occupied by tenants - often referred to as a "pub co".Some tenants are also obliged to buy the drinks they sell from the same company. In some cases they are responsible for the upkeep of the building too. Maurice, a tenant for one such company in Sheffield, tells the BBC he is trying to renegotiate his deal to run the pub. He says he will have to close the establishment if he can't get better terms."The prices that we are charged for spirits, beer, is ridiculous. I could actually go to a supermarket and buy about two bottles for what they're charging me for one. But I'm not allowed to because I'm tied," he also wants to see "pub co" breweries offered more help with the maintenance of their pubs, rather than leaving tenants to chase money for been in the trade all his working life, he says he got involved with running a pub because of his love for community, but he's struggling to see a bright future. "At the end of the day, you've got to make money. Financially, we're losing about £1,000 a week at a minimum here. And that's been for about the last couple of months."I can't afford to carry that anymore. All my savings are going." For its part, the UK government says the pub is a central part of Britain's national identity and it is working hard to support the industry."We are a pro-business government and we know the vital importance of pubs to local communities and the economy, which is why we are supporting them with business rates relief and a 1p cut to alcohol duty on draught pints."However, campaigners say that's not enough."Bringing down the VAT rate for hospitality would be a massive win," says Paul Crossman, landlord of The Swan, in York. Paul, who is also chair of the pressure group the Campaign for Pubs, says: "I know the Chancellor of the Exchequer won't like that because there will be a cost attached to it, but surely getting 10% VAT from businesses that are still open is better than asking 20% from businesses that can't sustain that and will close."There are some positive stories, too. Meg and Patrick have recently taken over the oldest pub in Chesterfield, south Yorkshire, and say their re-opening "couldn't have gone better".Both former teachers, the couple had a shared dream of running their own pub, eventually saving enough to buy the Ye Royal Oak in the town centre. They say being a free house pub has been helpful, as they are in control of what they do. Patrick that the support he's witnessed in the community has given him hope."Beer and pubs are such a massive part of the fabric of British life that we think that that's not something that's ever going to go away," he says.
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
TOM UTLEY: I no longer have the slightest wish to 'save' the decaying NHS. But, for the sake of our mental health, please leave our pubs alone
Every day this year, we are told, yet another pub in Great Britain will close its doors for the last time. So says the British Beer and Pub Association, which predicts this week that 378 more pubs in England, Scotland and Wales will have brought down the shutters before the end of the year, never to raise them again. This is up from 350 closures last year, and will bring the number remaining open to its lowest in more than a century, even though the population has swollen by roughly 50 per cent since the 1920s. Miserably, too, it will add thousands more to the toll of 69,000 jobs in hospitality that have already disappeared since Rachel Reeves 's Budget less than nine months ago. As regular readers will know, pubs have been close to my heart all my life, since those Sundays in my childhood, when, as a special treat after church, my siblings and I would drink fizzy orange in the garden of the Dundas Arms in Kintbury, Berkshire, while our parents drank inside. They have been an invaluable source of employment to millions like me, my wife and all four of our sons – all of whom did shift-work behind bars in our younger days, either to bring in a little welcome pocket money during our gap years and holidays, or to help pay the rent when we were looking for full-time careers. Indeed, as I may have mentioned before, when I proposed to Mrs U on our first ever meeting she was pulling pints behind the bar at my then London local, to top up her wages as a secretary. True, the money was less than generous. But pub work was always a convivial and readily available introduction to the grown-up world in which we would have to make our living. I just wonder how many of the opportunities we enjoyed will be open to students and others in the future, after this present Government has done its worst? It's almost as if Sir Keir Starmer called his ministers together for a brainstorming session when he came to power, demanding answers to the question: 'How can we destroy as many jobs as possible, while at the same time causing maximum damage to a cherished British institution?' They certainly had no shortage of ideas. 'How about raising the minimum wage to a level that pub landlords can't afford to pay?' 'Brilliant! And we could tighten the thumbscrews by cranking up business rates and employers' National Insurance contributions. That should force them to lay off staff and banish any thoughts they may have had of recruiting more!' 'I like it. What about you, Angela? Anything to throw into the pot?' Ms Rayner: 'Well, don't laugh, but what about including an anti-banter clause in my Bill to increase workers' rights? We could give bar staff the power to sue their bosses if they happen to overhear something a customer says that upsets them.' Sir Keir: 'That's just the sort of off-the-wall thinking I'm looking for. There's nothing like the stress of an unaffordable lawsuit to drive job-creators out of business. Good for us human rights lawyers, too. Any other thoughts?' 'Here's something. You know how smokers have always been among the most loyal pub-goers in the land? Well, we've already driven a lot of them away by banning smoking inside pubs. How about getting rid of most of the rest by banning it in the open air, too, on the pavement or in the beer garden?' Sir Keir: 'Great! But I'm looking for a real clincher to dissuade anyone from applying for bar-work, in the unlikely event that any will be available.' Up speaks another bright spark: 'Got it! Why don't we increase both taxes and state benefits, to the point where it pays people more to slob around at home doing nothing, claiming they feel depressed, than to work full-time behind a bar?' Sir Keir: 'Superb! This has been a hugely valuable session, guys. With ideas like these, just think how we'll be able to wreck the pub trade, among many others, before the next election. Let's get out there and do it.' Of course, no such meeting actually took place. But what we do know is that the Government has been busy putting every one of these moronic ideas into practice. Meanwhile, the Treasury's hapless spokesman can only bluster: 'We are a pro-business Government, and we know the vital importance of pubs to local communities and the economy.' (To which millions will no doubt reply: 'You have a funny way of showing it!') The spokesman goes on: 'That is why we are supporting them with business rates relief, a 1p cut to alcohol duty on draught pints, capping corporation tax and are protecting the smallest businesses from the employer National Insurance rise, which is helping to fund the NHS.' Let's focus on that 1p cut in the duty on a pint of draught beer. Is the Chancellor really so out of touch that she's unaware how, thanks largely to her policies, the average price of a pint in the UK has risen by no less than 21p since last year, when Labour came to office? If you ask me, it would almost have been wiser of Rachel Reeves to have announced no cut in beer duty at all, rather than insulting us by pretending she was doing the pub trade a massive favour by shaving off that derisory penny. We're not as stupid as she seems to think. As for that reference to funding the NHS, the message there was as clear as it was economically crass: 'Only by introducing these job-destroying, growth-crushing policies will we be able to carry on shovelling taxpayers' billions into the voracious craw of the unreformed health service.' Well, there was once a time when citing the needs of the NHS might have tugged at the nation's heart-strings – an age when most of us truly believed that the NHS was the envy of the world. But that was long before the multiple scandals of recent years, with all those tales of horrendous bureaucratic waste, patients cruelly neglected in decaying hospitals and others kept waiting in pain for month after month for desperately needed operations. How many of us still love the NHS, at this time when resident doctors are dragging it ever further into disgrace, by threatening to inflict pain and untold misery on patients until taxpayers are forced to meet yet another wildly exorbitant pay demand? No, the health service loses more and more friends as every month goes by. Meanwhile, Britain's pubs retain the place they've held for centuries in the nation's hearts, as the hubs of our communities, forums of laughter, gossip and common sense, and blessed refuges from the strains and irritations of an increasingly crazy world. As for me, I no longer have the slightest wish to save the NHS, in its current unreformed state. But for the sake of our mental health, leave our pubs alone!
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Nearly 400 pubs will close in UK this year, industry warns
The British Beer and Pub Association estimates 378 pubs will close across England, Wales, and Scotland in 2025, resulting in over 5,600 direct job losses. The industry body warned pubs are struggling to make a profit due to high bills and taxes, leading to closures that impact communities and local economies. The British Beer and Pub Association has urged the government to implement meaningful business rates reform for the sector. The association is calling for a reduction in the cumulative tax and regulatory burden, mitigation of new employment and EPR costs, and a cut in beer duty. While the Labour Government plans to reform business rates, a recent budget cut property tax relief from 75 per cent to 40 per cent, increasing costs for hospitality businesses.
The Sun
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Ban on alcohol adverts considered by ministers sparking fury from industry who say it will be ‘hammer blow to firms'
A BAN on prime-time alcohol ads is being considered by ministers. But NHS chiefs' call for minimum prices for booze looks to have been sunk. Proposals for a ban on ads — such as David Beckham' s for Stella Artois — are in the draft of a ten-year health plan. An industry source warned: 'This will be a hammer blow to firms and there will be knock-on effects for struggling pubs. "Ministers must think of unintended consequences.' Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said: 'This is nothing but nanny statism from an incompetent Labour government waging war on pubs. 'This would be the final nail in the coffin for many.' The British Beer and Pub Association said: 'With over 80 per cent consuming alcohol within Government guidelines, any proposed measures must focus on helping the minority who drink at harmful levels.' Another insider said: 'This could also have a major impact on sports like rugby league which has a partnership with a beer firm. "This will go down like a dodgy meat pie.' Last night, the Government said: 'The ten-year health plan will not include a ban on alcohol advertising. "We are exploring options for partial restrictions to bring it closer in line with advertising of unhealthy food.' David Beckham meets 'long-lost twin brother' Hollywood star in Super Bowl advert for Stella Artois Junk food ads are to be banned between 5.30pm and 9pm from October. Meanwhile, minimum pricing was suggested as a way to cut the estimated £20billion a year bill for alcohol harm, crime and disorder, in England alone. But sources say it is now unlikely to be implemented.
