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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Graham Hiscott

One pub shuts every two hours as more closures likely due to staffing and supply issues

More than 9,000 pubs, restaurants and other licenced premises have closed since the start of the Covid crisis - an average of one every two hours.

Research by consultants CGA and AlixPartners found 106,000 such venues were left, after an 8% drop between early 2020 and now.

And there are fears that many more could shut because of a surge in energy, raw ingredients, wages and other costs for business owners.

The number of traditional community pubs that mainly rely on drinks sales fell by another 1.5% in the first three months of this year.

Another part of the hospitality sector still reeling despite the lifting of Covid restrictions is nightclubs, where numbers fell by another 1.7% since the start of this year.

The number of traditional community pubs that mainly rely on drinks sales fell by another 1.5% in the first three months of this year (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Karl Chessell, CGA’s director for hospitality operators and food for Europe, said: “Heavy inflationary pressures and staffing and supply issues are making conditions extremely difficult, and we can expect to see a steady flow of both closures and new openings as the year goes on.”

Graeme Smith, a managing director at AlixPartners, said: “While it is encouraging to see a smaller decline in sites than we have in past quarters – and robust performances from some within the industry – the sector is still 9,200 sites lighter than when we entered the pandemic two years ago.”

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