UK pubs and brewers are at risk of closure within months as landlords struggle to pay "rocketing" energy bills due to Ofgem's price cap not applying to businesses.
Bosses of Greene King (LSE:GNK), JW Lees, Carlsberg Marston’s, Admiral Taverns, Drake & Morgan and St Austell Brewery signed an open letter to the government insisting it does something now before “real and serious irreversible” damage is done.
An unprecedented rise in gas prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine was the largest contributor to the 80% hike in the energy price cap last week, which is set to catapult to £3,549 a year in October for households.
Some business owners, who operate without the threshold, complained their bills have quadrupled or said they are struggling to find suppliers when their contracts expire.
Nick Mackenzie, Greene King (LSE:GNK) chief executive, claimed one tenant saw their energy bill rocket £33,000 for the year.
He commented: “While the government has introduced measures to help households cope with this spike in prices, businesses are having to face this alone and it is only going to get worse come the autumn.
“Without immediate government intervention to support the sector, we could face the prospect of pubs being unable to pay their bills, jobs being lost and beloved locals across the country forced to close their doors, meaning all the good work done to keep pubs open during the pandemic could be wasted.”
The bosses on the board of the British Beer and Pub Association demanded the government implement an urgent support package to cap the price of energy for businesses.
A government spokesperson said: “No government can control the global factors pushing up the price of energy and other business costs but we will continue to support the hospitality sector in navigating the months ahead.
“That includes providing a 50% business rates relief for businesses across the UK, freezing alcohol duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits and reducing employer national insurance."