Pub-goers could soon be forking out much more in order to enjoy a pint, with one pub boss reckoning prices will soar to an eye-watering £10.
Boss of Wetherspoon pubs Tim Martin issued the warning as he said the ongoing cost of living crisis means there are "no limits" on costs. Talking to LBC Radio on Tuesday morning, the businessman suggested that drinkers will "quite-probably" see prices increase to £8 soon, refusing to rule out a jump to £10 in the future.
Currently, the price of pint in Scotland's cities ranges £5.05 on average in Edinburgh to £3.43 on average in Aberdeen, according to recent research from Finder.com.
However, the only way is up when it comes to how much it will cost to go out for a few, the pub boss says.
"There are certainly some pubs that do that - and it’s gone up more than you would imagine", he explained.
"I go around the country visiting pubs and talking to our pub managers – whereas it’s not a fiver in our pubs, it’s a fiver in a lot of pubs from Penzance to Wick at the moment. So yeah, the price has gone up a hell of a lot. Will it go to eight quid? Quite probably, if things go on as they are."
“Everybody at the moment, one way or another, is struggling with inflation and rising prices," he added.
"Some of the big breweries are diluting the alcohol content with their beers to avoid these charges, these extra charges.
"It’s financed by tax, because if you bring beer down to 3.4 per cent, which is much lower than almost any beer you’d ever buy in a pub, you get a big tax break on the basis of the incredibly stupid reasoning that people will drink less alcohol if they drink weak beer.
"That’s just not the way people are. So, I think it’s a bad idea. Brewers have jumped on the bandwagon, they can’t resist the 25p tax break, but we are going to try and avoid doing it. Well, we might have, but we want the proper strength beers.”
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