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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Graeme Murray

Experts predict pub pint could skyrocket to £14 unless Government steps in

Experts have predicted a pint cost could skyrocket to £14 unless the Government steps up.

Pubs are already facing spiralling energy bills, higher wages and beer price increases from brewers.

But another six per cent rise could hit beer costs next year.

And it could see drinkers in London being forced to shell out £8.48 for a pint.

In June, the priciest pint in the UK cost £8.

But pension provider Penfold reckons beer could rise to a sobering £13.98 by 2025.

Hospitality industry bosses have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng warning of further closures without energy bills' support.

Punters have returned to licensed premises after the trade was badly hit during the coronavirus pandemic (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Punters have returned to licensed premises after the trade was badly hit during the coronavirus pandemic.

But cost of living concerns, rising energy costs and recession fears are hitting them harder still..

Around 10 per cent of jobs are in the hospitality industry but firms are facing a 300 per cent rise in bills from energy firms.

A beer duty cut and lower business rates and an urgent energy price cap for small businesses has been called for British Beer and Pub Association.

But rising energy costs coupled with staff pay and challenges with supply chains have seen 81% of hospitality firms face product shortages and nearly three-quarters say they have faced “significant in- creases” in utility bills.

Cost of living concerns, rising energy costs and recession fears are hitting publicans hard (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

This has prompted an escalation in prices of nine per cent in the year which has passed.

But further rises are expected with another six per cent forecast in 2023.

Tim Martin of Wetherspoons warned the very existence of pubs is in jeopardy.

He said: "Let’s not beat about the bush.

"If pubs are to survive and thrive in the future — generating a huge number of jobs as well as vast funds for the Treasury — they have to be treated fairly."

In July, The Mirro r reported the number of pubs in ­England and Wales fell below 40,000 ­during this year, a loss of more than 7,000 in a decade.

The hospitality sector, which tackled huge challenges during the pandemic, is now facing record-high inflation and an energy crisis.

The hospitality sector is now facing record-high inflation and an energy crisis (Getty Images)

Pubs have been demolished or converted, research from real estate advisers Altus Group found.

UK president Robert Hayton said: “They’re grappling with the cost of doing business through soaring energy costs, inflationary pressures and tax rises.”

Two hundred pubs vanished from the end of 2021 up to the end of June.

According to the British Beer and Pub Association, British Institute of Innkeeping and UKHospitality, 37 per cent of businesses are turning a profit.

The rising cost of energy, goods and labour were identified as the biggest factors behind falling profits.

The increasing cost of energy, goods and labour were the biggest factors behind pubs' falling profits (Getty Images)

Jolly Tap in Wakefield, West Yorks, opened in 2017 as the flagship bar for Jolly Boys Brewery, but is to close in August.

Co-director Hywel Roberts said he was “gutted" by the closure saying: “The pub is a victim of the pandemic.

"People would rather go out for a meal than go to a pub.”

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