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.
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% of businesses are turning a profit.
The rising cost of energy, goods and labour were identified as the biggest factors behind falling profits.
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 is “gutted”, saying: “The pub is a victim of the pandemic. People would rather go out for a meal than go to a pub.”
Owner Joe Cussens, who runs four pubs as part of the Bath Pub Company, has had to make a member of staff redundant.
“This is an economic catastrophe in the making,” he said, explaining his first contract renewal in one pub alone showed a rise in utility bills from £28,000 a year to £65,000.
Jamie Scott, 32, who runs The Newport near Dundee, has seen bills go from £17,000 to £90,000 a year. He said: “No one can survive that! Unless something is done, in the worst case, there would be mass closures.”
The industry has urged the Government to provide more support.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, said: “These numbers paint a devastating picture. It’s essential we receive relief.”
Pub bosses have also warned of the impact of rail strikes on sales.
The founder of City Pub Group in London, Clive Watson, said in June he could have lost as much as 25% of usual sales as people axed outings.
Jane Turner, of Tubbs of Colne, East Lancs, said energy bills mean they need to find an extra £420 a week.
“We pay 15p per kilowatt, this is set to increase to 30p, a 100% increase.
“In the next 12 months businesses will be destroyed, most won’t be able to absorb costs like this.”
