UK Pubs May Be Forced to Shut amid Increasing Energy Prices

BUSINESS

The beer industry of the United Kingdom said thousands of pubs in the country face closure without any urgent government support to ease the impact of rising energy bills. It is putting many jobs at risk in an industry that is still battling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The owners of the companies that own around half in the 47,000 pubs of the United Kingdom, said the tenants were already giving warning because they could cope with the energy bills that are due to increase more than fivefold in some cases.

Unlike households, businesses do not benefit from a capital on what the suppliers can charge for electricity and gas, which will leave many companies facing problems with intervention from the state. The British Beer and Pub Association said that mass job losses had been inevitable in the absence of help for a particular industry that employs 940,000 people.

Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of the Greene King, a 3,100-strong pub chain, said the increasing energy bill impact had come just as the industry was battling back from the effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns, which had affected the hospitality industry, and left many pubs with some punishing debts.

READ  TikTok Partners with Shopify to Let Users Shop Directly from the App