UK pubs shutting at rate of 18 per week

Around 18 pubs closed each week in the UK over the first six months of the year, according to new analysis released on Tuesday that called for an easing of the financial burden on the industry that results in a third of the cost of a pint being made up of various taxes.

There were 476 pub closures in total in the first half of 2018, down from the 525 in the same period last year but higher than the 463 closed in second half of 2017, the Campaign for Real Ale revealed on Tuesday.

The data has been compiled by CAMRA's WhatPub online pub guide, which more than 95% of all currently open pubs, but does not account for new openings.

The hardest hit areas include Greater London and the East Midlands, where there was a 1.3% reduction in pub numbers. London has seen a 27% reduction in pub numbers since 2001, with 54 boozers shutting their doors for good so far this year, while in the East Midlands 47 drinking holes were shuttered. Scotland shut 14 taverns, while in Wales there were 31 closures.

There were 4,108 pubs counted in Greater London at the end of June.

Four out of five people in the UK suffering from a local pub closure in the last five years, according to research conducted by YouGov, with 21% having seen five or more close.

"These figures reveal the huge obstacles facing pubs, which are struggling under a triple whammy of high Beer Duty, rapidly rising Business Rates and VAT," CAMRA said. "As a result, a third of the cost of a pint is now made up of various taxes."

The beer campaigning group called on the government to abandon any upcoming increases to the tax paid by pubs in the Chancellor's Budget this November, where a 2p per pint increase in beer duty is expected, with pubs also fearing they will lose £1,000 in business rate relief.

Pubs contribute £23.1bn a year to the UK economy and employs around 800,000 people, with a further 100,000 working for the brewing industry, according to research by Oxford Economics last year, commissioned by the British Beer & Pub Association. With Camra also noting that drinking holes provide social benefits by creating a convivial local community meeting place.

"The latest YouGov findings, coupled with our own pub closure figures, paint a dismal picture for our pubs," said the organisation's national chairman, Jackie Parker. "As taxes continue to rise, more people are choosing to drink at home and as a consequence, pubs are closing down. It's a vicious cycle."

"Pub closures make us all poorer by reducing overall tax revenues raised by the pub sector and weakening community life in areas where valued pubs close. Fundamental change is needed if the British pub is to survive for future generations. We are urging the Government to take action to secure the future of our pubs by relieving the tax burden."