Pint Prices On The Rise As UK Pubs Struggle To Survive

“We don’t talk about Covid anymore, it’s got nothing to do with that,” Miranda told LADbible. “In our own personal lives, all our own bills are going up – it’s heat or eat, and that’s where the priorities lie.”

The hardest cost for Live and Let Live has been the loss of customers, but that’s just one piece of the puzzle. “In January, I calculated that it costs us £2,700 just to open the doors for a week. That’s before I’ve bought any product, and I’ve not bought any food or anything like that. I’ve just redone that for April and it’s £3,400. And I’m a small village pub – there are some with much higher overheads.”

Miranda was left with no choice but to add an extra 30p to their beer prices, the first increase in three years. “You can imagine how that went down with the customers, but if I’m honest it should’ve gone up by 50p. My costs have gone up 6 percent a barrel.”

The problem is that the entire pub supply chain had already been backed into a corner by Brexit and Covid, and this has only been compounded by skyrocketing costs in recent weeks. 

“My food wholesaler is a delivery company so their fuel and energy prices have gone up, they’ve lost drivers, and they’ve lost business from venues that closed down after the pandemic,” explains Miranda. “So now my food costs are through the roof. For example, five kilos of chicken breast used to cost £20, and now it’s £27 – that’s a 33 percent increase.”

Miranda made a joke that she’s going to ‘buy shares in Tipp-Ex’ because she can’t afford to keep changing the menus. “Realistically I need to chuck a pound on everything again.”

Live and Let Live is just one of many pubs across the country struggling to cover bills amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, resulting from surges in fuel, energy and food prices.

“I’ve also had to increase my staff’s wages quite considerably. And all of our ingredients – fruit, veg, meat, beers – they’re all transported on trucks, which you have to fill up with diesel or petrol. So we’re just being squeezed from every direction and there’s no let-up in sight.”

Although pub culture is an integral part of British life, they’re one of the first institutions to be hit when the economy is struggling. “We’re a discretionary purchase, nobody has to go to the pub,” he adds. “People are affected by the huge spikes in fuel, utilities and food, so what can you do if you want to drink? You buy some beer at the supermarket and stay home.”

And while The Bank Tavern is situated in the city centre, it's still not enough to make up for the 'perfect storm' of pressures.

But even pubs in comparatively stronger positions are witnessing first hand the impact the crisis is having. “People just don’t have as much disposable income, so the next couple of months we’re going to be gritting our teeth and hoping that we don’t lose too many of our wonderful customers,” says Sueleen.

This highlights the conflict presented by the current situation. Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, people have been itching to get back out and go for dinner and drinks with friends. But if prices continue to rise, many will prioritise spending on essential items and this means at the very least switching an evening pint for a tinnie at home.

“We had to put ours up by about 30 or 40p,” notes Sueleen. “We keep it as low as we can but when overheads keep going up and up, we have no choice – we can’t keep swallowing the costs. And the thing is, the average pint now I’ve found is about £5.50, maybe £5.20 if you’re lucky.”

While you could argue the price of a pint is the least of the country’s problems right now, the fact is that pubs are a significant part of many Brits’ social lives. It’s where people go to unwind and connect with their community, a vital activity during testing times. 

And if drinks costs do jump to the higher end, Sueleen points out, “It really would exclude a huge amount of people who like to come in, have a nice time and get to know lots of different people.”

As for where this leaves the hospitality sector moving forward, the consensus amongst those we spoke to is that the government needs to step in if one of Britain’s key institutions is to survive. 

“They say their hands are tied but when you look at what they’re doing in Europe, there’s a lot of things they can do that’ll have an impact on the amount of money people have in their pockets,” says The Bank Tavern’s Sam.

“In other countries, they’ve slashed the cost of public transport, they’ve slashed the tax on fuel, just to try and keep it on a level that people can function.”

He continues: “People aren't being extravagant – people need to get to work, they need to go out and about. This isn't people being frivolous, this is people just functioning on a day to day level and really struggling. And we're just a small part in that.”

However, people feel the measures don’t go far enough to support individuals through rising costs, and those in the hospitality industry couldn’t help but notice the Chancellor’s silence on the VAT spike.  

“They don't seem to be sorting out the effects of Brexit, they don't seem to be addressing the rising costs of living and they don't seem to be addressing the shortfall in manpower,” says Sam.

The impact this is having on Britain’s pubs is clear to see. “My job is to make people happy,” adds Miranda. “But at the moment, I struggle to get out of bed in the morning because I’m facing another day of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’.

“When you’ve got people like Martin Lewis giving us advice on wearing gloves that cost 4p a day, why are we accepting that? Why do we accept that we've got 22,000 food banks in the UK? It’s not okay.”

As it stands, all landlords can do right now is the same as the rest of the public – try to stay afloat and take things a day at a time. What’s important to remember is that there is absolutely no shame in having to cut costs where possible and seek help when it’s made available.

“What this situation has demonstrated is how vulnerable we can be,” says The Mayflower’s Sueleen. “I hope that from this we can, in our local communities and the wider public, be kinder to each other and be as supportive as we can. I think that’s really important.”