Business

FINANCIAL ALE-MENTS FOR THE PUB INDUSTRY

By Dave Lowther ⋅ April 12, 2008 ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

Whether it’s for a beer or just a few games of darts, going to the pub is an essential part of a student’s life, but now it is under threat. Rising costs and tax increases have meant pubs have found it difficult to survive, and over 50 pubs a month are closing down.

In 2000 beer made over £810 million pounds profit, but the smoking ban and the governments crusade on excessive drinking have lead to a massive slump in the market and sales are down to less than £65million.

This year it is facing more problems. During Euro 2004, on the day we lost to Portugal, over 10 million pints were consumed, two years later at the World Cup we lost to them again and drowned our sorrows with 15 million pints.
This year we are expected to consume an average of…oh wait we didn’t qualify, bad news for pubs.

Whilst this amount is only a fraction of the estimated 10 billion pints of beer drunk in Britain each year, it’s not the only problem; more and more people are drinking alternatives and beer consumption has fallen 7%. That’s 700 million pints not drunk.

The budget increase on beer is expected to generate the government £1.59 billion. However, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, Rob Hayward, said: “By aiming a tax hike at beer, the Chancellor is shooting himself in the foot. Revenues will continue to fall, pubs will continue to close and beer sales sink further.

On the plus note, the tax rises don’t affect large supermarkets, as they pass it on to the consumers, so beer is cheaper than bottled water at most places.