The warning that pints may go up in price by some 10% comes as the hospitality sector is desperate to return to normal business post-Covid.
Although British Beer & Pub Association statistics put the average price of a pint at £4.07 in the UK, it says those in the capital have to fork out £4.84. However, finder.com puts the average London pint price at £5.50.
Price hike higher than estimated
Previously, boss of City Pub Group Clive Watson said inflation in the pub sector was running at between 7% and 9% and the business had locked in 70% of its drinks supplies on a three-year fixed-cost deal in a bid to control costs but Watson told the Evening Standard prices were still likely to rise.
He said the price of a pint could increase by 40p, higher than an estimate of 30p given last October, and a burger would rise by £1.50.
To cap the rise in beer prices, trade bodies and industry leaders have previously called for VAT to remain at 12.5% ahead of a rise of up to 20% in the spring.
Return to office working
Although firms are now asking staff to return to work, ending months of working from home, industry insiders claimed parts of the hospitality sector had seen sales fall to 85% of pre-pandemic levels in December for London and the south-east.
He told the Evening Standard: “The sector is desperate to recover but there are still bumps in the road. To get Britain back to work, so to speak, is absolutely vital for hospitality.
“A lot of businesses, including our own, do rely on people being back at their desks and coming into London. That’s a really key driver going forward.”
