Last orders! Rate of pub closures reaches decade high as rate hikes and inflation bites
The number of pub closures in the UK reached its highest quarterly figure in over a decade, new data reveals, as soaring costs force more of the country’s local watering holes to close their doors for good.
Some 223 pub businesses entered insolvency in the second quarter of this year, up from 200 in the first quarter, according to analysis from accountancy firm Price Bailey.
A total of 729 pub businesses went bust over the last 12 months to June 30, marking an 80 per cent increase on the previous year, the firm found.
Price Bailey said a number of factors had contributed to the leap in insolvencies.
Aggressive interest rate hikes to tame inflation have also made it more difficult for pubs to service their debts.
“Pub closures are rising at a rate unheard of in more than a decade,” Matt Howard, head of the Insolvency and Recovery Team at Price Bailey, said. “We are seeing a perfect storm of high inflation and interest rates at a time when many pubs are on life support.”
“Business failures in the pub trade are likely to continue to rise throughout the second half of the year,” Howard added.