Last orders for pubs? 2 in 3 ‘may shut without bills help’

UP TO two thirds of pubs may shut this winter unless help is urgently given to tackle rising energy costs, a business chief warned yesterday.

Small businesses – unlike householders – have no cap on energy bills and many are being hit with huge increases, in some cases eight times higher.

This is affecting firms across the high street, while schools, care homes, hospitals and other vital public services also face being crippled by vast bills.

Ruby McGregor-Smith, head of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), warned: ‘At the moment we’re talking about up to two thirds of pubs may have to shut their doors.

‘We cannot be in a situation where more and more businesses are shutting down because of costs that are absolutely outside their control. They cannot get support in any other way, it’s not as if they can borrow the money.’ Baroness McGregor- Smith continued: ‘They’ve come out of Covid. They’ve already got loans. They’ve already got higher costs from national insurance. There still isn’t a reduction on VAT.

‘They absolutely have got to deal with the rising cost of inflation as well... This is too much, they have to have support now.’

TV chef and the holder of two Michelin stars Tom Kerridge shone a light on the crisis in the hospitality trade, saying energy bills at one of his pubs have gone from £60,000 a year to £420,000.

He said many people are considering ‘mothballing’ their businesses through the winter because they cannot afford to remain open. ‘The numbers are so ridiculous and ludicrous that no wonder so many businesses are closing and talking of closing,’ he said.

The BCC has forecast that the UK will be in recession before the end of the year. Baroness McGregor-Smith, a Conservative peer, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that measures suggested by Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, including reductions in VAT and business rates for retail and hospitality, is the ‘right territory’ to help people this winter.

But she said: ‘I think unless there is immediate support, we will see many businesses close their doors this winter.’

Her warning came as craft brewing company Brewdog said it was closing six outlets – in London, Motherwell near Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Peterhead in Aberdeenshire – amid soaring energy bills that mean they are no longer financially viable.