194 pubs lost forever in 2023
The research, which was collected by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and came from its pub database whatpub.com, also showed 1,293 business closed in 2023.
However, it also revealed there were 296 new pub openings – where pubs have been built or buildings were converted for pub use – during the same period.
According to CAMRA, the closures represented 64m fewer pints sold and around £103m was lost to local economies.
Concrete impact
Furthermore, the data looked into cases where a pub building converted or demolished without the relevant permission. During 2023, it found there were 32 of these cases investigated with 10 confirmed.
The figures come as the Spring Budget looms. Many voices from across the sector have called for the Government to take action in supporting the pub sector at the upcoming announcement.
CAMRA pub and club campaigns director Gary Timmins warned inaction is putting firms on the line.
He said: “Communities up and down the country are not simply facing the loss of pubs but also the jobs, investment opportunities and social spaces those pubs create.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the nostalgic idea of the pub as a British institution but the positive impacts they have on people’s lives is very concrete."
Cohesive leadership needed
Timmins added: “Government inaction is putting tens of thousands of businesses on the line and it is vital the upcoming Spring Budget provides a 20% draught duty relief, the removal of unnecessary red tape that currently prevents the sale of takeaway pints and a VAT cut for hospitality.
“Pubs, social clubs, brewers, cidermakers and consumers urgently need cohesive leadership from the Government, not just piecemeal policy changes and I hope these shocking figures are a catalyst for that shift.”
These figures follow research earlier this month (February) from CGA by NIQ and AlixPartners’ Hospitality Market Monitor that found the number of licensed premises in Britain closed at a rate of almost nine a day in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Moreover, further data in January showed 22,859 licensed venues shut their doors for good since December 2020.
