More than 2,000 pubs face last orders unless there is urgent help in next month’s Budget, industry chiefs warn ministers today.
Trade body the British Beer and Pub Association says such mass closures would deliver a blow to communities across the country.
It comes after the Mirror revealed that three in 10 pubs are at risk of going bust in the next year, half of those within six months.
The BBPA is calling on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to freeze duty rates.
It also wants a significant increase in the discount for draft beer sold in pubs, and for him to introduce the previously announced reduced rate for lower-strength beers from August 1. Another major headache for pubs is the swelling cost of energy.
The Government is ending its Energy Bill Relief Scheme from April 1, leaving some non-domestic customers facing a steep bill hike.
The plea for more help comes as data from advisory firm Oxford Economics estimates “on-trade beer sales” – drunk at bars such as in pubs or hotels – will decline by 9% in the 12 months from April.
That equates to 288 million fewer pints sold – and 25,000 potential job losses in pubs and the wider industry. A survey by the BBPA found that 69% of respondents agreed that local pubs played an important role in bringing communities together.
Six in 10 were concerned about an increase in loneliness if more local pubs close down.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, said: “It is crucial the Government shows in this Budget that it understands the pressures the sector is facing and just how much our pubs and breweries mean to communities everywhere across the UK.
“We urgently need the Chancellor to deliver a plan for sustainable growth with fair, modernised tax rates and a focus on skills and training needed to ensure pubs and breweries can thrive.
“After almost three years of extremely tough trading conditions due to lockdowns, an energy crisis, supply chain disruptions and more, now is a make-or-break moment to save our locals and breweries from failure.
“We need the Government to act now or risk losing something very special for ever.”
Landlady Emma Shepherd warned a potential tripling of her electricity bills means she may have to close the kitchen of her pub altogether.
She and husband Carl, who run the Blue Ball Inn in Worrall, near Sheffield, have already decided not to serve food on a Monday and Tuesday to save.
But with their current fixed rate commercial electricity contract coming to an end next month, they have struggled to find a new supplier.
Their existing supplier’s renewal quote is around £17,000 a year. If they went out-of-contract, the standing charge element of their bill would rocket nearly 1,300%.
“The way it is going, our energy costs will be more than the rent,” said Emma, 52, who used to work for a construction firm.
The pub is a hub of the community hosting coffee mornings and dementia-friendly days.
Emma added: “We haven’t seen a drop in trade at all. If anything, business has increased.” But the surge in costs is creating tough choices.
“We are already working 70, 80-hour weeks to cut down on staff costs,” says Emma. “We may have to close the kitchen and become a wet-led pub.
“That would mean that we have to make a single mum with two kids redundant.”
