UK pub closures have doubled in last three months

By James Bayley

Published: 10 October, 2022

The number of pubs closing across the country, having called last orders for the final time, has rocketed by 50% in the last three months.

The real estate adviser Altus Group has today (Monday 10 October) warned that 50 pubs a month are now ‘vanishing’ from communities in England and Wales.

During the three months to the end of September 2022, analysis of government property tax records reveals that 150 pubs were either demolished or converted for other use, such as homes and offices.

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Wales and the North West lost the greatest number of pubs.

That number is up 50% on the 200 pubs lost for good during the first six months of 2022.

The total number of pubs, including those vacant and being offered to let, fell below 40,000 for the first time at the end of June, according to Altus Group’s annual business rates review.

With pubs grappling with soaring costs and fragile consumer confidence, Robert Hayton, UK president at Altus Group, said last month’s mini-budget contained “glaring omissions” adding “it beggars belief that a self-proclaimed low tax government could allow pubs lose to their business rates discount next April as well as seeing any benefit from next year’s revaluation potentially wiped out by inflation.”

Until the end of March next year, pubs receive a 50% discount on their business rates bills worth, on average, £9,563 per pub, although that support is capped at £110,000 per business and is due to end on 1 April 2023.

Overall, business rates revenue is also set to rise next April in line with September’s headline rate of inflation, which is due to be released by the Office for National Statistics on 19 October.

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