Staggering number of pubs cut hours and days in fight for survival as industry in crisis

A third of pubs say they have had to reduce their opening hours and cut the number of days they operate in a bid to stay afloat as the cost of living crisis deepens.

Rising energy costs are among the reasons pubs are being forced to close at 8pm, reports The Mirror. Many pubs have also stopped serving food in a bid to cut costs. A poll of British Beer and Pub Association members found 32% had reduced their hours due to high costs.

BBPA boss Emma McClarkin said: “They have been grappling with a multitude of challenges. The decision to reduce hours is not one pubs want to make – it is a survival strategy in an unsustainably tough environment. The Government must act to support pubs to alleviate these pressures and ensure the local remains at the heart of our communities.”

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Chairman of the Campaign for Real Ale Nik Antona said: “Pubs are swimming upstream against challenges such as escalating costs of goods and employing staff, sky-high energy bills, the burden of unfair business rates and customers tightening their belts.

“Last orders at an earlier time is preferential to the pub closing its doors for good and the local community losing its central hub. The fact that venues are being forced to make this decision should serve as a harsh wake-up call for government to support UK pubs, lest we lose them forever.”

BBPA figures show 509 pubs shut down in 2023, and this year an estimated 750 could close by June.

Tom McNeeney, of the Oxford Pub in Rochdale, said the pandemic changed habits. He said: “The idea that people are now