Responding to new figures showing that 50 pubs a month are closing Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer and Pub Association said:
“Pubs across the country are desperately trying to keep their doors open to serve their communities but have encountered hurdle after hurdle whilst trying to recover from the pandemic. Energy bills and other costs are still spiralling, and publicans are still mostly in the dark about whether they will be able to keep their lights on this winter as they await further detail and calculations on the business energy cap from Government.
“Meanwhile customers are thinking very carefully about how and where they spend their money, meaning our pubs are squeezed at both ends. So, whilst these figures are deeply alarming, they are unfortunately not surprising, because publicans are at a complete loss about how to keep their businesses going. We are urgently calling on the Government to ease the cost of doing business crisis for our sector by introducing a cut to VAT and business rates before we lose even more pubs and the livelihoods they support in villages, towns, and cities across the UK.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
About the British Beer & Pub Association
The BBPA represents UK companies which between them brew over 90% of the beer sold in the UK and own 20,000 pubs.
Our members include international companies, national and local brewers and pub businesses operating managed and tenanted pubs in cities, towns and villages across the country.
These businesses are at the heart of communities and local economies and include family businesses who have been brewing beer and running pubs for hundreds of years alongside emerging brewers and pub operators.
· The UK’s beer and pub industry supports close to 940,000 jobs
· The industry adds £26.2billion to the UK’s economy each year
Press release from the BBPA.
For more information or to arrange an interview contact Jessie Powell at jpowell@beerandpub.com or 020 7627 9199 .