Pub boss warns that expensive pints don't mean high profits

The British Beer and Pub Association warn that approximately one pub a day will have closed by the end of 2026 as industry figures reveal that UK pubs could make just 3p profit per pound spent on a pint.

Managing director of Lancaster Brewery, that owns The Mill at Ulverston and The Duke Of Edinburgh in Barrow, Phill Simpson said: "An expensive pint definitely doesn’t mean it’s a profitable pub. That pint has to pay for wages, National Insurance, business rates, energy and maintenance before the publican earns a penny.

"The real issue is the price gap between drinking in a pub and drinking at home. Every extra cost piled onto pubs pushes that gap wider."

He added: "We need a much bigger beer duty advantage for draught served in pubs over beer sold in shops. Supermarkets can keep their prices competitive, but pubs need room to keep theirs affordable too. A pub pint supports bar staff, cellar skills, premises and a place for people to meet.

"The duty system should recognise that. If government wants people using their local pubs, it needs to stop pricing them out of doing so."

Analysis by money.co.uk using data from the BBPA highlights the financial pressures facing the sector.

It says that despite rising pint prices, profit per pint has more than halved in the past two years as costs including wholesale prices, wages, business rates, and beer duty are eroding margins.

Beer duty alone rose by 3.66 per cent this year, adding around £35 per week to costs.

A pint priced at £5.17 would leave pubs with just 16p profit after expenses.

In high-cost areas, the "£10 pint" could soon become a reality.

Emma McClarkin, CEO of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “When a local closes, the damage is felt far and wide. It’s not just workers, communities, our heritage and high streets who lose out when a pub closes, the Treasury loses, on average, £200,000 in tax receipts every time a local calls last orders."