Two pubs per day vanishing in England and Wales

This marks a 50% surge from 51 pubs per month lost during the year’s first quarter.

The overall number of pubs in England and Wales, including those vacant and being offered to let, fell to 39,404 at the end of the second quarter of 2023 to 30 June down 230 compared with 39,634 on 31 March 2023, data from the commercial real estate intelligence firm Altus Group revealed.

This means 230 pubs vanished in total in the year’s second quarter.

Altus Group’s pub tracker also reveals that, during the first half of 2023, between 1 ​January and 30 ​June 2023, a total of 383 ‘vanished’ pubs have either been demolished and/or converted into other types of use such as homes, offices or even day nurseries.

Last orders

In comparison, this is almost the same as the number of pubs (386) pubs that were lost for good in the whole of 2022. 

During the first six months of the year, Wales lost the greatest number of pubs with 52 ‘vanishing’ with both the London and north west regions losing 46 pubs each.

Alex Probyn, president of Property Tax at Altus Group, warned of looming tax rises for pubs and called on the Chancellor to use his Autumn Statement on 22 November to act.

Business rates

He said: “With energy costs up 80% year -on-year in a low-growth, high-inflation and high interest rates environment, the last thing pubs need is an average business rates hike of £12,385 next year.”

Pubs, as with other eligible hospitality, leisure and retail business currently get a 75% discount off their business rates bills for the 2023/2024 tax year up to a cap of £110,00 per business but this is set to end on 31st March 2024.

While business rates are also set to rise next April in line with September’s headline rate of inflation which could also add more than 6% to bills next year.