Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, warned that the only way many pubs can stay open is to pass on the upcoming costs to consumers. She said: “No one wants to see the cost of an average pint increase by a further 21p.”
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00:00There was some research that came out. It was pre-COVID actually, so a number of years ago now, but I think it was well over half of Brits at that time thought the price of a pint was too expensive.
00:09So now that we're seeing it creep up even more, I can imagine a lot of our members at Canberra know that the price of a pint is becoming more and more unaffordable, which is a great shame.
00:20What's really important to bear in mind is the reason it's becoming more and more unaffordable for the general drinker isn't really down to the public and anything like that.
00:28And so, you know, we're trying to urge people not to blame pubs or people involved in pubs, but all these factors that, you know, in terms of duty and taxes and their business rates, that actually are kind of impacting this most.
00:40It seems as though most regions across the country are facing price rises when it comes to their pints.
00:46Jodie Wilkinson of Take Payments said the idea that northern cities are universally cheap is being challenged with places like Manchester now ranking among the least affordable.
00:58London in the UK is still pricier than most of the list, with the average cost of £6.50 for a pint in the UK's most populated city, coming in as the 10th most expensive in countries around the world.
01:10London reportedly charges more than double the world average for a beloved pint.
01:15I think it's been a real struggle the last few months and particularly running up to the 1st of April when some of the changes announced in the last budget came into effect.
01:25Things like the national insurance contributions increases, particularly at pub level.
01:29I think there was a lot of brewers and publicans kind of counting down to that day to see what that would do to their bottom line and how things are impacting them.
01:36As you said, the cost at every single stage of the cycle has increased exponentially.
01:41So, yeah, right from the farmers who are growing our hops in this country and abroad to the brewers who are using those raw ingredients and all their utility costs, which are much bigger than household costs.
01:53They don't have the same caps, even though household energy bills went up significantly in the last year or two.
01:58So, you know, businesses went up even higher.
02:01And then when you get to the kind of the retail side and the publicans, the cost of hiring staff has increased for them exponentially.
02:08The cost of running their business has increased exponentially.
02:11The profit margin they're making on a pint is ridiculously slim.
02:15You know, they are trying their best to keep things as affordable as possible.
02:19And they are very, very mindful of the fact that the more they increase the cost of the price to cover their costs,
02:25actually, it's impacting the ability for people to go and drink in the public.