2023-06-20 10:26:44
Under the pressure of rising costs, an analysis has found that more pubs in the UK have closed in a decade than in a decade. In the first quarter, 200 Beisln filed for bankruptcy, British trade journals quoted the auditing firm Price Bailey. In one year, 620 pubs in England, Wales and Scotland would have closed, 68 percent more than in the same period last year.
Many restaurants suffer from higher costs for energy, raw materials and wages. Because of numerous train strikes, commuters stayed away. The higher cost of living also has consequences for pubs, as consumers would have less money at their disposal. Price Bailey warned that the situation could get even worse as restaurants become unable to repay loans due to rising interest rates.
Separately collected data shows only a slight improvement. According to this, more than one in five pubs (22 percent) still have restricted opening hours – but this is an improvement compared to the end of 2022, when the rate was 29 percent. Because of the increased costs, many inns want to continue raising prices, even though the numbers have fallen here too.
At the same time, the analysis also pointed to bright spots for the industry. At 35 percent, more than twice as many of the pubs surveyed reported rising sales as falling (16 percent). That means a dramatic improvement compared to the situation six months ago, when only 7 percent spoke of better sales, but 58 percent of declining revenues.
“For many pub businesses, which have accumulated unmanageable debt over the difficult years, the improvement in the economic outlook may come too late,” said Price-Bailey expert Matt Howard. “Banks are expected to put increasing pressure on borrowers to meet or pay off loans.”
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