some 51 pubs have closed every month since the start of 2023, research from Altus Group (TSX:AIF) has found, ramping up fears that more could close now that the energy bill relief scheme has ended.
Pub closures in 2023 only accounted for around 0.3% of pubs in England and Wales but this was still a 60% increase on the same period last year.
The energy bill relief scheme ended in April, and it is expected that venues may have to pay an additional £18,000 a year in utility fees.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive at the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said: “Energy bills are decimating our sector with extortionate costs wiping out profits and closing pubs at a faster rate than the pandemic.
“It is essential that the Government intervenes.”
Between 2019 and 2021 the number of pubs dropped by 850, according to data from the BBPA.
If the rate of closures continues in 2023 it could mean that around 600 venues close by 2024 – with the figure likely to increase without the energy bill relief scheme.
However, pubs have been dropping numbers since the turn of the century, with more than 13,500 closing between 2000 and 2019.
This works out to an average of around 715 closures per year.
In fact, in 2017 the BBPA estimated that 37.5 pubs closed every week between 2016 and 2017.
A Parliamentary report in 2021 explained that falls over the last two decades may have been influenced by regulatory changes like banning indoor smoking, increased taxation and reduced alcohol consumption.
During the pandemic, many people began buying alcohol online as pubs closed – a trend that has continued.
Online searches for both wine and whisky remain above pre-pandemic levels, research from Lunzer Wine found.
Between August and October last year, alcohol duty receipts dropped by 8% year-on-year, with even beer falling by 5% – according to figures from HM Revenue and Customs.
With attitudes to alcohol and pubs changing – especially during lockdown – it could mean that even if calls for energy support were heeded, it may not stem the tide of closures.