Pubs face closure due to soaring energy bills
Pubs across the UK will be forced to close due to energy costs soaring by as much as 300%, brewery bosses have said.
Leaders of six of the country’s largest breweries called for “immediate government intervention” on sky-high energy bills this winter.
The landlord of one pub in Essex told the BBC his energy costs had risen from about £13,000 a year to £35,000.
Pub owners said the energy crisis would cause “real and serious irreversible” damage to the industry without support.
The pub and brewery owners from six companies – JW Lees, Carlsberg Marston’s, Admiral Taverns, Drake & Morgan, Greene King and St Austell Brewery – sit on the board of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).
In an open letter to the government, they called for urgent intervention, including a support package and a cap on the price of energy for businesses.
Rocketing energy bills come at a time when the number of pubs in England and Wales is falling, hitting the lowest level on record – 39,970 in June, according to analysis.