According to study, there are now less pubs in England and Wales than ever before. This data highlights the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic and rising operating costs.
In the first half of 2022, there were fewer than 40,000 pubs overall, a decrease of over 7,000 from a decade earlier.
According to research by real estate consultants Altus Group, pubs that have vanished from towns have either been destroyed or turned into other structures like homes and offices.
As it recovered from the pandemic, which resulted in national lockdowns that led to closures and decreased demand, the hospitality industry has faced enormous challenges in recent years.
However, the researchers contend that while pubs survived Covid-19, a new threat has emerged in the form of record-high inflation and an energy crisis.
Separate data reveals that the names of inns with royal or coaching associations, like the Royal Oak and the Coach and Horses, are those that are declining the quickest.
As opposed to this, a boom in “micropubs” has led to an increase in “bar” and “tap” openings.
While pubs showed remarkable resiliency during the pandemic, Altus Group’s UK president Robert Hayton said: “Pubs are now facing new headwinds, grappling with the cost-of-doing-business crisis through soaring energy costs, inflationary pressures, and tax rises.”
From the end of 2021 to the end of June, 200 pubs disappeared from communities in England and Wales, bringing the total number to 39,973 pubs.
The East of England and London both lost 24, while the West Midlands lost the most—28—in just six months.
Pubs that must pay business rates are included in the total count, including those that are vacant and being rented out.
Only 37% of hospitality companies are making a profit, according to studies from the British Beer and Pub Association, British Institute of Innkeeping, and UKHospitality.
The primary causes of declining profits were found to be rising costs for labor, goods, and energy.
The government has been requested to offer more assistance by the hospitality sector.
“When pubs are forced to close, it’s a terrible loss to the local community, and these data paint a devastating picture of how pubs are being lost in villages, towns, and cities across the UK,” said Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association.
“As a sector, we have just been through two of the toughest years in recent memory, and now we must contend with extremely high cost increases, with only one in three hospitality enterprises currently showing a profit.
We must be given respite to lessen these demands or we run the serious risk of losing more bars every year.
Pub owners have recently issued warnings about how train disruptions could affect sales for hospitality businesses, compounding the already pressing issues of price increases and declining consumer demand.
Clive Watson, the founder of City Pub Group in London, claimed in June that he could have lost up to 25% of normal sales as a result of individuals postponing outings due to industrial action.
Due to the rail strikes last month, one chain of pubs saw a 25% decrease in sales.
Additionally, according to Altus’ data, Cornwall is the county council region in England with the most operating pubs, with 582 of them.
With 466, Wiltshire comes in second, followed by Leeds in third with 461.
Only two London boroughs are represented on the list, with Camden placing 20th with 234 and Westminster City Council placing ninth with 375.
The Observer noted that there were 103 fewer licensed restaurants with “inn” in the name in 2022 than there were in 2020, according to statistics from the Food Standards Agency.
According to the open-source data website GetTheData.com, “Arms” decreased by 49, while “Bar” increased by 119 and “Tap” increased by 48.
Royal, Crown, Lord, Greyhound, Horse, Coach, and Duke are also on the decline, although Red Lion and Plough are rising.
No one is opening a micropub and calling it The Royal Oak, according to James Watson of the Campaign for Pubs, who spoke with The Observer.
The Bell Inn in Wiltshire is one of the bars that have shut their doors in the last 12 months. After servicing consumers since 1740, it closed its doors in February.
After what the landlord referred to as “three years of hard effort,” another establishment, the Black Dog in Chester, shuttered its doors in May. They eventually succumbed to the coronavirus pandemic during that time.
The Soldier Dick in Buxton, Derbyshire, a third place that closed its doors due to a lack of patronage during the pandemic, was forced to do so.
The establishment, which opened in 1804, provided lodging in addition to being a popular drinking spot.
Landlord Mark Ramsden stated to the Buxton Advertiser that despite spending money on updating the guestrooms and enlarging the outdoor space, clients are no longer coming through the doors.
“Before Covid, we had regulars who were seven-day drinkers, but so much has changed, people have stayed home for too long, and those folks we used to see every day no longer come in at all.”
As living expenses rise, one of the first things individuals trim is their spending money on entertainment. We are doing 60% less business than usual, and we just cannot afford to keep our doors open.
It follows Kate Nicholls’ warning last month that over 10,000 bars and restaurants might have to close due to a “perfect storm” of inflation, skyrocketing energy prices, and rising rents. Kate Nicholls is the chief executive of the trade group UK Hospitality.
According to her, the crisis facing the hospitality industry is “as big, if not bigger,” than it was during the coronavirus pandemic.
We have already observed numerous independent operators turning in their keys and leaving, the woman claimed.
She calculated that 20,000 UK Hospitality members’ firms are still losing money and that 30,000 don’t have any cash on hand.
“I’ve never seen such a deadly mix of prices,” she continued. It is the ideal storm.
Due to the disruption of the supply chain brought on by Covid and the war in Ukraine, as well as higher wages brought on by a staff shortage, the restaurant industry is experiencing inflation of between 13 and 17%.