50 pubs a month ‘vanished’ during H1 2024
The North West region of England lost 46 pubs, the most of any region, during the first half of 2024
50 pubs a month have “vanished” for good from the English and Welsh communities calling last orders for the final time during the first six months of 2024, according to analysis of official government data by the commercial real estate intelligence firm Altus Group.
The overall number of pubs in England and Wales, including those vacant and being offered to let, fell to 39,096 at the end of the first half of 2024 to 30 June down 305 compared with 39,401 at the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, a total of 472 pubs closed during the whole of the financial year in the 12-months from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
The North West region of England lost 46 pubs, the most of any region, during the first half of 2024. London also lost 25 pubs in H1 2024.
The report suggested that pubs which have vanished from the communities that they once served have either been demolished and/or converted into other types of use such as homes, offices or even day nurseries.
Alex Probyn, president of Property Tax at Altus Group, warned of a “double whammy” of property tax rises for pubs next April and has called on the chancellor to use her Autumn Budget on 30 October to act on it.
Pubs, as with other eligible hospitality, leisure and retail businesses currently get a 75% discount off their business rates bills for the 2024/2025 tax year up to a cash cap of £110,00 per business but this is set to end on 31st March 2025.
Whilst business rates are also set to rise next April in line with September’s headline rate of inflation which, if unchanged from August, could also add an extra 2.2 % to bills next year.
Probyn said: “The last thing pubs need is an average business rates hike of £12,160 next year through inflationary rises and the loss of the discount.”