Is the pub industry in trouble?

The number of pubs in England and Wales has plunged to its lowest ever level, according to an analysis published on Monday which blames the coronavirus pandemic and soaring costs.
In the first half of this year, pub numbers dropped below 40,000 -- a fall of more than 7,000 since 10 years ago.

A total of 200 pubs called "last orders" for good from the end of December to the end of last month, real estate advisers Altus Group said.

Pubs, which have been central to British communities for centuries, have either been demolished or converted into homes and offices, it added.

The analysis comes after the pub trade and wider hospitality sector suffered a slump in business due to the series of coronavirus lockdowns and social distancing restrictions.

Throughout the public health crisis, industry bodies urged the government for more financial support to prop up affected businesses and prevent many from going to the wall.

But with inflation now at 40-year highs, pubs have been confronted with a new challenge.

"Whilst pubs proved remarkably resilient during the pandemic, they're now facing new headwinds grappling with the cost of doing business crisis through soaring energy costs, inflationary pressures and tax rises," Altus Group UK president Robert Hayton said.

Separate research from industry bodies the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), the British Institute of Innkeeping and UKHospitality, suggests only about one-third (37 percent) of hospitality businesses are in profit.

Rising costs of energy, goods and labour were blamed.

Coronavirus has had an unprecedented impact on pubs in Britain. The British Beer and Pub Association estimates that the industry lost over ?100m each month of lockdown.

Hundreds of thousands of staff were placed on the government’s job retention scheme, and 70 million pints of unused beer have been destroyed.

The “super Saturday” reopening in England on July 4 has been hailed as a new dawn for pubs. However, the industry will have to cope with more than social distancing and other challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic. While this crisis has created new problems, the British pub industry was already experiencing long-term decline.