Pubs must increase pint prices to £20 or face closure this winter, expert warns
5 September 2022, 12:19
Pint prices could rise to £20 this winter, or pubs may risk closing down.
The price of a pint could rise to a whopping £20 to keep pubs afloat during the cost of living crisis, an expert has warned.
Tom Stainer, the chief executive of real campaign group CAMRA, says that with energy prices increasing by 500-600%, this will put a huge strain on business finances.
He told the Daily Star: "How much would 500% be on a £5 pint - you’re talking ridiculous amounts of money, 15 or 20 quid for a pint.”
“What you can say with surety is you can't possibly pass on these energy increases and you can't increase the pint by 500.
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“You'd be talking about pounds of pounds added on to the average cost per pint - and we already know because we did a survey this summer that more than 50% of the British public now believe the cost of a pint is already unaffordable.
“And that was done before the cost of living crisis before everyone was looking at their own money. And before these huge energy bills came in.
“It just isn't viable for pubs to pass [price hikes this big] on to consumers because people wouldn't come drink at pubs anyway.”
He said that due to the huge increase in energy bill prices, this will never be clawed back through the price of beer, adding: “However successful businessman you are… the pub you're running you cannot do a 500% increase on your energy costs.”
This means pubs across the country could be affected by this and may even be forced to close.
Tom went on to call for government action to help businesses following a tough few years of lockdowns.
Six of the UK’s biggest pub and brewing companies such as Greene King, Carlsberg Marston’s and Drake & Morgan, have now signed an open letter to the Government, urging it to act to avoid “real and serious irreversible” damage to the hospitality sector.
