More than 400 pubs in England and Wales closed or were rebranded last year, taking the total number below 39,000 for the first time.
Real estate company Altus Group says 412 public houses will be demolished or converted to other uses by 2024, leaving just 38,989.
The UK’s brewing and hospitality sectors have long warned of rising costs, including changes to the alcohol tax system and higher energy bills. Businesses also face further challenges in 2025, when employers’ national insurance contributions will increase, the National Living Wage is expected to increase, and the business rate discount will be reduced from 75% to 40%.
Alex Probyn, UK president of property tax at Altus Group, says: “Many taxpayers I speak to are very concerned that this could be their last Christmas. Employers’ costs are rising just as abatements are being reduced, so maintaining profitability is becoming increasingly difficult.”
The entertainment industry faced a major crisis during the violence of Covid-19, highlighted by the rapid decline of nightclubs, which fell from 1,700 ten years ago to 787 in June of 2024.