UK pubs would have to raise price of pint to £20 in order to survive, expert warns

The cost of a pint would need to soar to £15 or £20 for pubs to survive the cost of living crisis, an expert has warned. 

With the skyrocketing prices of energy, pub landlords are facing a five to six-time increase in their running costs, according to Tom Stainer, from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). 

CAMRA is calling on the government to intervene with rising energy costs to prevent the mass closures. 

Speaking to the Daily Star, Tom said: “We're seeing pubs where their energy costs are going up by not just a little bit - we're talking 500 percent to 600 percent.

Alex Segre / Alamy Stock Photo

"How much would 500 percent be on a £5 pint - you’re talking ridiculous amounts of money, 15 or 20 quid for a pint.”

He also warned that the ‘perfect storm’ of factors ‘will affect just about every pub out there’.

Tom said it would be impossible for pubs to pass the cost onto customers like this and is urging the government to step in to help out. 

“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 percent,” he said.

He went on to note a study from the summer which found that 50 percent of people already felt the price of a pint was too high. 

Tom added: “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] on to consumers because people wouldn't come drink at pubs anyway.”

Colin Underhill / Alamy Stock Photo

CAMRA’s warning comes just days after research revealed that more than 70 percent of pub operators did not think they’d make it through the winter without intervention from the government.

Research carried out by the Morning Advertiser, found that more than 65 percent of respondents said their utility costs had risen by more than 100 percent, while 30 percent of pub owners said they’d had an increase of 200 percent, and eight percent said their utility bills had increased by a staggering 500 percent. 

In response, the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) alongside CMARA wrote a letter to the chancellor Nadhim Zaha urging the government to act now as the industry faces ‘grave uncertainty’.

The letter read in part: “We have entered one of the most challenging times for the brewing sector. Small brewers are reporting that their energy bills are doubling or trebling, putting their future ability to brew at risk.”