Pubs and brewers warn of closures amid energy price cap rise

Business leaders from across the brewing and pub industry have signed an open letter to the Government and leadership candidates warning small businesses will close and jobs will be lost if immediate action isn’t taken on energy bills for businesses.

The most recent letter, sent on 26 August, signed by six business leaders, warns that pub and brewing businesses across the UK are at risk of closure due to out of control energy bills, with upwards of 300% price hikes reported with current average increase around 150% across the beer and pub sector.

Chief executives of regional and family brewing and pub businesses to international companies came together to raise alarm of the “real and serious irreversible” damage the energy crisis will cause if the Government does not implement an urgent support package that effectively caps the price of energy for businesses.

The letter highlights that it is an issue impacting the “entirety” of the industry’s supply chain, with major CO2 producer, CF industries announcing it will be ceasing production of what is a critical component in beer production and dispense in pubs, citing market conditions as a key decision driver.

The call from business leaders follows the consumer energy price cap announcement at the end of last week which raised the limit at which consumer energy bills will be capped.

Representatives from J.W Lees, Greene King, Admiral Taverns, St Austell Brewery, Drake and Morgan and Carlsberg Marstons, who make up the board of the British Beer and Pub Association noted that whilst action on consumer energy prices was “essential”, without relief for businesses many jobs and livelihoods would be lost in the coming months.

William Lees Jones, managing director of JW Lees, said: “We have publicans who are experiencing 300% + increases in energy costs and some energy companies are refusing to even quote for supply. In some instances, tenants are giving us notice since their businesses do not stack up with energy at these costs. These are not just pubs but people’s homes and the hearts of the communities that they sit in.”

Nick Mackenzie, CEO of Greene King, added: “The huge rise in energy bills is hitting the UK’s pubs hard – just as the sector was starting to recover from the pandemic. Up and down the country our tenants and free trade customers are receiving untenably high bills, with one reporting a rise of £33,000 a year for energy. 

“Without immediate government intervention to support the sector, we could face the prospect of pubs being unable to pay their bills, jobs being lost and beloved locals across the country forced to close their doors.”