27/07/2025
MONEY IS TIGHT FOR EVERYONE WE UNDERSTAND AND EMPATHISE
Price Of Beer Vary Pub To Pub Depending On The Model - Big chain , small family run single , freehold , brewery tied , community , social club etc etc . Most Pubs price beer inline to a degree with their outgoings - it’s not as easy as saying a pint of morreti here and price there without knowing each pubs costs-And always consider is it good high quality crisp clean pint ! - however , regardless all of the below has hit and is hitting every pub - To late for us but food or beer for thought 👇👇⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
Author Darren Richards
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The Truth About British Pubs in 2025: A National Institution on Life Support
Across the UK, more than 20 pubs are closing their doors every single week.
Not because they aren’t loved. Not because they aren’t busy. But because the costs of simply existing have spiralled beyond reason, and the government has done almost nothing to stop the bleeding.
We’re talking about an industry that has fought through Covid, lockdowns, staff shortages, inflation, and now faces a crisis of survival.
Here’s what’s really happening behind the scenes — and why thousands of landlords are at breaking point:
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🔥 Operating Costs Have Exploded
• Utilities have gone through the roof. Pre-Covid, many pubs paid around £600/month in energy. Today, it’s closer to £2,800–£3,500/month – often more.
• Business rates for hospitality have risen by up to 140% in some areas.
• Minimum wage and National Insurance have both increased sharply – which in theory is fair, but there’s been no meaningful relief or support for businesses expected to shoulder the cost.
• Insurance, deliveries, cleaning, beer gas, licenses — everything has gone up.
🍻 Margins Have Collapsed
• In 2009, pubs could make around 80–90p profit on a pint.
• Now, in many cases, it’s as low as 10–15p. That’s not a typo.
• That’s before rent, staff, VAT, energy, business rates, and all other overheads.
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💰 The VAT Disgrace
• Pubs pay 20% VAT on virtually everything they sell.
• Supermarkets pay just 2–5% on alcohol — and don’t have the same overheads.
• Worse still: supermarkets now sell alcohol cheaper than most pubs can even buy it from the breweries.
That’s right. A pint of lager from the supermarket can be half the price of the cost price to a pub. And we’re supposed to compete with that?
Before Covid, pubs accounted for around 65% of alcohol sales. Now, it’s just 25%.
Supermarkets dominate with 75% of sales, with many consumers understandably drinking at home to save money.
But drinking at home isn’t social. It doesn’t create jobs, or support local life. It doesn’t bring people together or help tackle loneliness. Pubs do.
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🧾 The VAT Trap & The Energy Killer
Most pubs that go under don’t do so because they’re not working hard enough.
They go bust because of unpaid VAT or crippling energy bills. Those two things are the final straw for most.
Landlords are working 70–90 hour weeks just to keep things afloat — often taking no wage, doing the work of multiple staff, and still ending up in debt.
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🚫 No, We’re Not “Rolling in It”
People often assume a busy pub is a profitable pub. It’s not that simple.
Customers can only spend what they can afford — and right now, most are stretched to the limit. We’re not asking them to spend more.
We’re asking the government to stop sabotaging the industry that built Britain’s social fabric.
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🎯 What Needs to Happen
• Cut VAT for pubs and hospitality – to 10% or lower.
• Level the playing field with supermarkets.
• Tackle the insane wholesale pricing structure that lets supermarkets sell cheaper than pubs can even buy.
• Reform business rates for the hospitality sector.
• Introduce a pub energy cap or rebate scheme, like other sectors received.
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Pubs are the beating heart of British communities. They are workplaces, lifelines, meeting places, safe spaces, and the backbone of towns and villages across the country.
And they’re vanishing at a terrifying rate.
If something doesn’t change soon, we’re not just going to lose a few struggling venues — we’re going to lose thousands of treasured locals. And with them, the character and culture of our communities.
Once they’re gone, they won’t come back.
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👉 Share this. Talk about it.
🧾 Email it to your MP.
💬 Demand fair treatment.
SAVE OUR PUBS.
Because the day the last pub calls time…
Is the day Britain loses part of its soul.
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