- Global supply challenges and staff shortages have put pressure on British pubs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
- 3,250 closed between March 2020 and September 2021, according to data cited by the paper.
- Pubs are the poster boy for wider economic troubles, one owner told the Journal.
Long a focal point for communities, there are fresh worries over the future of Britain's pubs in the wake of the pandemic.
For the institutions that have survived previous challenges such as a smoking ban, competition from supermarkets' cheap alcohol sales and, more recently, the country's lockdowns, the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has heaped fresh pressure on British taverns, the Wall Street Journal reports.
In addition to lower consumer demand, landlords are grappling with supply chain challenges, higher energy costs and rising wages amid a labor shortage.
Around 3,250 pubs closed nationwide between March 2020 and September 2021, equivalent to nearly 7% of all premises, according to data by AlixPartners and CGA, reported by the Journal.
"Pubs are a poster boy for wider troubles in the economy," Conor Foley, who runs Kelly's Dispensary in Liverpool, told the Journal. He said that alcohol prices had increased, as had a quote for his energy costs, which was about 40% higher than his previous bill.
He's also struggling to fill vacancies and is working 70 hour weeks as cover, per the Journal. For one bar manager position, Foley said he'd received just one application — which he'd not hired. Pre-pandemic it would have attracted 40 to 50, he said.
New hires are demanding more pay, said Foley. A typical bar manager's salary has increased from £27,000 ($36,000) pre-pandemic, to £32,000 plus bonuses now, he said.
Hospitality businesses on both sides of the Atlantic have hiked wages and offered other incentives in order to attract staff. Some workers say they have had enough of long hours, poor pay and abusive staff.
It's not just the hospitality sector. Veterinary surgeries, care homes, and trucking companies among others have all complained about a shortage of workers. That, like wider supply challenges, has put pressure on bottom lines across the economy, which some companies are passing onto customers.
Britain's pub managers are now hoping that the run up to Christmas — a holiday season when workers and friends typically gather in pubs to socialise — will prove a boost to their fortunes, according to the paper.
"If you don't have a good December, you won't make a good profit for the year," Foley told the Journal.