More than 500 pubs closed in 2023

The figures showed 509 venues shut during the 12-month period, with the total number of pubs at the end of 2023 estimated to be 45,306.

In addition, last year’s pub closures equated to a loss of more than 6,000 jobs.

Economic bellwether 

BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “When a community loses a pub, it does not just lose the building and jobs, it loses a cultural asset at the heart of the community that is impossible to replace.

“In any local economy or community, pubs are an economic bellwether and there is an obvious connection between the loss of pubs and the decline of local High Streets.”

Moreover, the UK has lost 6% of its pubs in the last six years, with 3,043 sites having shut, while a quarter of all pubs have closed since 2022, when there were more than 60,000 sites across the country.

This comes as data from leisure property specialists Fleurets last week predicted the number of pubs the UK​ would continue to fall this year.

Stop the rot

Ahead of the Spring Statement in March, the trade body has called on the Government to “stop the rot” and introduce measures to secure the future of the sector, which is estimated contributed £26.2bn to the UK economy and generates £15.1bn in tax revenue.

McClarkin added: “At the last Autumn Statement the Chancellor provided a number of measures to support the beer and pub sector, but now is the time to stop the rot and at this statement we need to set a path to secure the long term sustainability for brewers and pubs with a cut to beer duty, a cap to the business rates multiplier and a reduction to the VAT applied for hospitality venues.”