One in four pubs has closed in the last 10 years, according to Office of National Statistics (ONS) data. Since the start of the economic crisis, the UK has lost about 11,000 pubs, as smaller establishments and those in rural areas have paid the highest price for the economic recession in 2008.
The British Beer and Pub Association warns: “Pubs face a number of cost pressures […] from every angle, which is driving closures. Unless more is done to help alleviate the cost pressures pubs face however, they will continue to close.”
Despite these figures, the pub industry doesn’t seem to be struggling – turnover has remained relatively stable since 2008. Moreover, the number of people in pub employment has increased by 26,000 in the last decade.
According to the ONS: “This may be because pubs are increasingly focused on serving food as well as drink, which requires more waiting and kitchen staff.”
The story behind the numbers is one of a crisis of small, local pubs. In the last ten years, small pubs (those that employ less than 10 people) have lost more than 57,000 workers; on the other hand big pubs (those with 10 or more workers) now employ 83,000 more people. Overall, the UK has lost almost 15,000 small pubs in the last decade, but there are more than 3,000 new big pubs.
London conforms to this national trend and has lost 670 pubs in the last ten years. But while smaller pubs have rapidly shut down nationwide, those with more than 25 employees almost doubled, rising from 265 in 2008 to 445 in 2018. This trend is even stronger in London where larger pubs now make up the majority as opposed to the rest of the UK.
When looking at individual boroughs in the city, the data is very different. Barnet has lost 55 pubs in the past decade, but Hackney now has 50 more pubs.
The Campaign for Real Ale notes: “Pub closures make us all poorer by reducing overall tax revenues raised by the pub sector and weakening community life in areas where valued pubs close.”