The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Fears for future of pub industry
A Peterborough pub boss is pleading for Government support as 2,000 of the nation’s watering holes are facing last orders, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).
The BBPA, which is the drinks and hospitality industry's largest and most influential trade association, says the challengingtradingconditions pubsandbrewerieshavehadto endure over the past few years has made it difficult for many of them to survive.
The BBPA is calling on the
Governmenttousetheupcoming Spring Budget to extend a lifeline to the sector.
Darren Peachey, a pub leasing company director who, along with his wife Carly, leases 11 pubs across our region, including The Dragon in Werrington, also believes the industryisstandingatafundamental crossroads.
“I’ve been doing this ten years now and I’ve never seen so many pubs close in my life,” he said.
Darrenbelievesthereisone thing above all that needs to be addressed to save his industry - energy costs.
“Our turnover hasn’t changed that much but our costs have gone through the roof,” he said.
“Even though we put prices up, we don’t make any more money - we have to put prices up to survive.”
Darren believes the only way the industry can avoid being “decimated” is to allow pubs and breweries to renegotiatetheexistingcontractsthey have with energy companies.
These contracts were signed last year in the belief “the government would roll on the help [financial support] with the utilities after April for vulnerable businesses”, like hospitality
“We signed into contracts we wouldn’t have signed into,” Darren says, bluntly.
“We’re all going to hit April and our bills are going to go through the roof. We need to re-negotiate these contracts that’s the main thing.”
Darren believes that, even if the Spring Budget is favourable, it will be too little too late for too many pubs.
The damage, he believes, has already been done. A drastic change in utility costs is, he asserts, the only change that will make any significant difference.
And if that doesn’t happen - what does he make of the industry then?
“The industry would be decimated,” he says, “you’ll only be left with managed pubs because the big breweries will still survive.”