CLOSING TIME AT THE PUB
Bigger chains are taking over as smaller locals shut up shop
MORE than 11,000 UK pubs and bars have closed in the last decade, as bigger chains force smaller locals out of business.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics show that around there are currently 38,815 pubs up and down the country.
That is a fall of 22.9 per cent - or nearly one in four pubs - from the 50,265 in 2008.
Despite the number of pubs decreasing, total turnover has remained relatively stable.
It sat at at £21.3 million in 2016, down only slightly from £22 million in 2010 when adjusted for inflation.
That suggests there is no financial crisis facing the general pub industry.
Employment figures provide a clearer picture of what is going on.
In 2008 there were 160,000 people working in pubs or bars staffed by fewer than 10 people.
As of this year that figure has fallen to 103,000.
At the same time, the number of people working in pubs or bars with 25 or more people has climbed from 108,000 to 162,000.
It means that bigger pubs are absorbing the staff from smaller drinking establishments. In 2008, UK pubs had an average number of five employees. By 2018, partly due to the closure of many smaller pubs, this had increased to eight employees. The areas where pub numbers have held up – or even increased – include several popular tourist areas, such as Highland in Scotland, Ceredigion in West Wales, and South Lakeland, as well as many seaside towns like Scarborough, Blackpool and Brighton.
Tom Stainer, campaigns and Communications Officer at the Campaign for Real Ale, a consumer organisation, said: "These shocking new figures show the huge loss that has been felt by communities up and down the country as beloved locals have closed down.
“By focusing on the stability of turnover from pubs and bars since the recession this study fails to measure the loss of the benefits that local pubs bring to their communities. “Pubs play a unique role in offering a social environment to enjoy a drink with friends, they help combat isolation and loneliness and help people feel connected to their community. "With a quarter of pubs closing in the last decade, we need the Government to act now to save our pubs from extinction."