British pubs are closing down at an alarming rate, according to the latest statistics.
The main venues for Category C machines, pubs are struggling against the cost of living crisis and are debt-laden, having taken on loans and deferred rents during Covid.
The working-from-home culture is also damaging pubs, plus the smoking ban and swingeing Alcohol Duty.
In the first quarter of this year, 239 pubs closed down - a rate of 80 each month - compared with 153 closures in the previous comparative year’s period.
In the whole of 2023, the number of operating pubs was 38,175, down from 41,015 in 2013.
The industry has been calling on the government to act to save pubs from extinction. The methods suggested include reduction in the Alcohol Duty, relaxing the smoking ban and lowering VAT.
