Pint of beer would have to cost £20 to save British pubs from closure

British pubs would be forced to charge up to £20 for a pint of beer to keep afloat amid the cost-of-living crisis.

£15 or £20 for a pint of beer

According to Tom Stainer, the Chief Executive of real ale campaign group CAMRA, British pubs owners are facing a five to six-time increase in their energy costs. He told the Daily Star:

We're seeing pubs where their energy costs are going up by not just a little bit - we're talking 500% to 600%.

He explained that this meant a pint of beer could cost £15 or £20:

How much would 500% be on a £5 pint - you’re talking ridiculous amounts of money, 15 or 20 quid for a pint.

However, Stainer believes that such a price is not feasible:

What you can say with surety is you can't possibly pass on these energy increases and you can't increase the pint by 500%.

You'd be talking about pounds of pounds added on to the average cost per pint - and we already know because we did a survey this summer that more than 50% of the British public now believe the cost of a pint is already unaffordable.

Stainer warned that without government action, thousands of pubs would be forced to close.

Stephen Hey—the owner of The Wickenham Arms Hotel in Yorkshire—has agreed. Hey said that he would have to charge his customers £16 per pint to cover the cost of his energy bills, which are expected to increase by 500% to £50,000 per year, as reported by The Independent. He said:

£1,000 a month is affordable but £1,000 a week is not. You can’t push that rise onto the customers, if I was to do that, I would be charging £16 a pint.

Cost has already risen 70% since 2008

It comes as recent figures from consultancy firm CGA revealed that since 2008, the average cost of a pint of beer in the UK has skyrocketed by 70%. As reported by CNBC, the average price of a pint has increased from £2.30 in 2008 to £3.95 in 2022. In one London pub, the average cost has risen to a whopping £8.06.

Read more:

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