Last orders: Pubs call for action as locals close across the country
A top pub group has called for “swift and meaningful” reform to business rates today after new figures showed the number of boozers in England and Wales fell below 39,000 for the first time this year.
According to official Government statistics, analysed by commercial real estate specialists at Altus Group, 412 pubs were either demolished or converted for other uses over the year to December.
The data showed that the overall number of pubs in England and Wales, including those vacant and being offered to let, fell to 38,989.
Some 34 pubs a month called last orders for the final time over the year, as the rate of pubs disappearing from local communities accelerated.
The decline marks the sharpest fall in pub numbers since 2021 when the sector was hit hard by pandemic restrictions and surging energy prices.
UK pub numbers have now plunged by more than 2,000 since the start of 2020.
The latest figures come amid a backdrop of rising costs and cautious spending among consumers who have witnessed higher mortgages and rents.
In April next year, a number of policies from Rachel Reeves’s autumn Budget will come into force which are also due to drive a sharp jump in costs for many pub operators.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said brewers and pubs “pour billions into the economy and support more than a million jobs” and called for action from ministers to soften the looming bill facing the country’s locals.
“For the sector to remain a stalwart of the economy and continue to be the beating heart of our communities, the Government must swiftly deliver permanent and meaningful business rate reforms,” she said.
“We stand ready to help the Government bring in sorely-needed change that will break down the barriers that stop our sector from contributing even more to the economy and employing more people than ever before.”
The fresh data also showed that London lost the greatest number of pubs in 2024, falling by 55 to 3,470 at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, pub numbers dropped by 53 to 3,904 in the West Midlands.
Altus Group’s Alex Probyn said: “Many publicans that I speak to are extremely worried that this could be their last Christmas given the combination of hiking the amount employers will have to pay in National Insurance, increases to the minimum wage and the business rates discount being slashed from 75 per cent to 40 per cent in 2025.
“Many pubs simply will no longer be viable making plots even more attractive for alternative investment.”
Additional reporting by PA