Pubs fear ‘extinction’ over energy bills

Any family plans for a traditional Christmas lunch at the pub have been thrown into doubt after landlords warned they face an “extinction-level event” this winter because of soaring energy costs.

Almost three quarters of publicans fear that they face closure later this year if no help is forthcoming from the government. The poll, by the Morning Advertiser, the pub industry magazine, found two thirds of landlords have seen their utility bills more than double. A handful reported rises in their bills of more than 500 per cent. Of those surveyed, almost three in four said that they could not afford the increases.

“Proper support and intervention is needed by government,” one landlord said. “Even a 20 per cent increase will be unaffordable, never mind 200 per cent.”

Surging costs come at a tricky time for the hospitality sector, which is still trying to recover from the pandemic lockdowns.

Heath Ball, who runs three pubs in the southeast, said the government must find a solution or “face the prospect of losing thousands of pubs”.

He added: “This is a doomsday scenario. Talking to other operators, they aren’t even being offered new energy contracts at any price due to the sector being deemed ‘high risk’. They can’t get power even if they can afford it. What a shambles.”

Campaigners have called for cuts in VAT and business rates. Others want an energy cap for businesses. “Pubs took a hammering during the pandemic and this situation is rapidly pushing them over the edge,” Ed Bedlington, editor of the Morning Advertiser, said. “We’re likely to see the closure of huge swathes of pubs and bars across the UK unless something is done to tackle these spiralling costs. The loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs due to a lack of business support is a crisis the government seems to be either missing or ignoring.”

The calls for help have been echoed by breweries. The Society of Independent Brewers fears that the government, in its state of flux, may delay the introduction of the draught duty rate, which gives a 5 per cent reduction in duty for beer sold in pubs. It is “vital” this is not scrapped, the trade body said.

The society, along with the Campaign for Real Ale, has written to the chancellor asking for support. “With businesses having pulled out all the stops to make it through the pandemic, it would be a travesty if more of our local, small and independent breweries were forced to close for good now due to the crisis with the cost of energy, goods, and doing business,” Nik Antona, chairman of Camra, said.