Struggling pubs fear 'carnage' for the industry

Hospitality workers have warned that many pubs face closure unless the industry receives greater support.

Pubs in Oxfordshire have said a combination of rising costs, tax hikes and wage increases have pushed them to the brink.

Andrew Joyce, who runs the Cotswold Merrymouth Inn near Burford, said he feared it would be "carnage" unless they got more support.

In January, the government announced a package of measures to help British pubs, including a 15% business rate discount that came into effect at the start of April.

It means pubs will pay less tax on their buildings and get more predictable costs, giving them a better chance to stay open. Also their bills will be frozen in real terms for two years, meaning they will not rise faster than inflation.

The government estimated about 75% of pubs would see their bills fall or stay the same in 2026–27.

To get benefit from the 15% business rates relief and the bill freeze, a venue has to meet the government's definition of a "pub", which means hotels and guest houses do not count.

Joyce said it was not something that had been offered to his business, which he said had to diversify in order to cope with rising costs. They had put more investment into events and accommodation.

He said they opened in June 2021 and bought what he called "a sorry looking derelict pub".

"We got the place looking really nice," he said.

He said things began to change and "less and less people" came through the door.

He added: "We decided we had to do something drastic, so closed the food and drink business and sadly we had to let go of 80% of the staff, which was quite galling to be honest with you."

Bar manager Dianne Cannon is one of the members of staff still at the site. She said they had a good team and then the clientele just dropped over the years.

"Unless we get the support we need, no pub is going to stand," Cannon said.

Nick Evans runs the Old Crown Coaching Inn in Faringdon and said it "has got to the point of crisis" for the industry.

He said the demand was still there, meaning his business was still "quite busy" but his costs kept going "up and up".

"There's often a lot of payment plans being arranged whilst we wait for busier times and hopefully better times," he said.

"This shouldn't be how a business needs to run."

A Treasury spokesperson: "In addition to pubs getting a 15% cut to new business rates bills from this month, it will be followed by a two-year real-terms freeze.

"We're also reforming rates to back the high street with a £4.3bn support package to limit bills rises.

"This is alongside capping corporation tax at 25%, cutting red tape and taking action on the cost of living to boost the sector.

"We're also cutting the business rates tax rate by 5p for high street businesses, funded by higher bills for the top 1% most expensive properties – meaning many big online warehouses now pay a 33% higher rate than small high street premises."

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