Pub closures spike 56% in Q1
England’s North West region lost 35 pubs, the most of any region, during this year’s first quarter
The number of pubs across England and Wales closing for good saw a sharp 56% increase in the first three months of the year to 80 a month, according to analysis of official government data by Altus Group.
This is a rise from the 51 pubs a month closing during the first quarter of 2023.
According to the analysis, the overall number of pubs in England and Wales – including those vacant and being offered to let – fell to 39,162 at the end of the first quarter of 2024 to 31 March, down 239 compared to the end of 2023 when 153 pubs vanished.
England’s North West region lost 35 pubs, the most of any region, during this year’s first quarter.
As a result, the UK’s largest pub groups and breweries have written an open letter to the leaders of the three main political parties ahead of the general election on 4 July, demanding an immediate cut in beer duty as a “first step” towards bringing the UK in line with the European average.
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.
This coincides with the sector’s demand for business rates reform.
The Conservative party promised last week to “continue to ease the burden of business rates for high street, leisure and hospitality businesses by increasing the multiplier on distribution warehouses that support online shopping over time”.
Meanwhile, the Labour party in their manifesto promised to replace the current business rates system, saying that they would raise the same revenue but in a fairer way.
The Liberal Democrats have pledged to abolish business rates and replace them with a Commercial Landowner Levy, which they say will also help high streets.