Last orders: London resilient against Covid pub disappearances
London saw the fewest number of pubs disappear for good since the first national lockdown, compared to other areas.
The capital city fared better than other regions in England and Wales, losing a total of just 27 pubs since the pandemic began some eighteen months ago.
The fall represents pubs either demolished or converted into other types of buildings.
In London, there were 3,623 pub properties as of 30 June 2021, ahead of ‘Freedom Day’ when pubs were allowed to operate without tough Covid restrictions including mandatory table service and capacity restrictions.
The city was ahead of the North East, which lost 30 pubs, and the South West, which lost 35, according to data from Altus Group first shared with The Morning Advertiser.
When pubs were first ordered to close in March 2020, there were 40,866 pubs in England and Wales including venues that were vacant or being offered to let.
The number of pubs had dropped slightly to 40,413 as of 30 June.
The South East saw the biggest drop with 81 pubs disappearing from high streets since the first lockdown.
The West Midlands lost the second largest number of watering holes since March 2020, losing 57, while Wales lost 56.
During the past three and a half hours, a total of 2,037 pubs have vanished for good overall.
Altus Group UK president of expert services Robert Hayton said: “Pubs endured a torrid time during the pandemic but proved remarkably resilient.”
“Aided by Government interventions such as furlough, grants, rates relief and liquidity in the form of cheap loans helped keep the ‘pilot light on’ for their reopening.”