Drinkers are copping it from all sides during this Christmas party season.
Already faced with Guinness ration cards, punters at pub group Marston plc have been hit by around a 10p a pint price hike on average to cover the cost of the national insurance increase announced by the government in the Budget.
"This is not a decision we've taken lightly but, as has been widely reported, the cost of doing business is increasing across the sector," a Marston's spokesperson told the Sun.
"At Marston's, we pride ourselves on offering great value and experiences for our guests every day of the week, and our teams are working hard to minimise the impact of external pressures on our customers and pub partners."
Investors weren’t too pleased either with the shares off 1.4% at 43p.
Earlier today, Hollywood Bowl said the NI changes would mean for someone working 20 hours per week and on national living wage costs would jump from around £400 a year to £1,155 or £1.2 million in total.
The comments overshadowed a year of record revenues for the FTSE 250-listed leisure business.