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Pub numbers fall to lowest on record Published Date: 08/07/2022

According to Altus, 400 pubs in England and Wales closed last year and some 200 shut in the first half of 2022 as inflation started to eat into their profits. That brought the total number of pubs down to its lowest since Altus's records began in 2005.

Robert Hayton, head of Altus in the UK, said: "Whilst pubs proved remarkably resilient during the pandemic, they're now facing new headwinds grappling with the cost of doing business in a crisis through soaring energy costs, inflationary pressures and tax rises."

According to the research, the West Midlands saw the biggest number of pub closures in the first six months of 2022, with 28 shutting.

It was followed by London and the East of England which both lost 24.

Altus said that pubs which had "disappeared" from the communities they once served had either been demolished or converted for other purposes, meaning that they were "lost forever".

The chief executive of UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls, said the pub closure figures were "truly shocking but will come as no surprise to many in the industry".

"We need the government to take urgent steps to remove barriers to growth, help to tackle the cost crisis we're facing and support more people into work and training," she said.

"Without this help, we could see thousands more pubs lost from their communities in the next few years."

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), said: "When pubs are forced to close it's a huge loss to the local community, and these numbers paint a devastating picture of how pubs are being lost in villages, towns and cities across the country.

"As a sector we have just weathered the hardest two years on memory, and we now face the challenge of extreme rising costs," she added.

"It's essential that we receive relief to ease these pressures or we really do risk losing more pubs year on year."

Source: BBC