The number of pub and bar companies closing has risen by two-thirds year on year.
The news comes as a 300-year-old village pub, Fleur de Lys near Saffron Walden in Essex, has closed its doors due to rising costs. An ongoing closure crisis is ripping through the British hospitality industry, with new data from accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young pointing out that it has suffered a 66% rise in the number of bar insolvencies in a 12 month period to September for another year.
The number of companies closing their doors jumped from 438 in 2021/2022 to 725 in 2022/23. UHY Hacker Young noted a number of factors contributing to the wave of closures including rising costs and drops in spending during the cost of living crisis. Other factors included high-interest rates and inflation.
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From January to September 2023, the average price of a draught pint in the UK jumped 9% from, £4.23 to £4.62, while 67% of adults are reported by the Morning Advertiser to be spending less on non-essentials. The data noted that 63% of people see drinking beer as a luxury and despite the good news that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is freezing alcohol duty, a lot of damage appears to be already done.
Peter Kubik, a partner at UHY Hacker Young said: “It is a worrying sign that so many pubs and bars are being forced to close their doors for good. Operators need to be busier than ever just to break even. The sharp rise in costs in the last eighteen months has been the final push into insolvency for many pub businesses, which were saddled with Covid era debts."
Mr Kubik added: “After enduring a huge drop in revenue during the pandemic, pub and bar companies are desperate to turn a profit. Instead, as we run up to the festive period, high inflation and interest rates is making this impossible for many owners.”
Similar issues were echoed by the landlords of the historic Fleur de Lys, Chris and Ellie Rossetto. They pointed to Brexit and Covid-19 lockdowns, along with staff shortages, as having led to a “drop in standards,” BBC Essex reported.
“We either do it well or not at all," Ellie said. "The British pub is an amazing thing but it's dying at the moment."
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