Tax hikes call time on two pubs a day crushing 2,400 jobs Hospitality The government’s bitter round of tax hikes imposed on the hospitality industry is said to have forced the closure of two pubs a day in the first three months of the year in yet another blow to the already bruised sector. Figures from the Beer Bar and Pub Association (BBPA) showed 161 pubs across Britain [...]
The 18 best pubs in the City of London – picked by experts Life&Style The City of London has some of the best old boozers in the country, from sprawling Victorian gin palaces to squat little drinking dens squirrelled away down forgotten alleyways. We asked the reporters at City AM – who know the Square Mile better than anyone – to name their best pubs in the City of [...]
Pubs to open late during World Cup – a life raft for hospitality? Hospitality Though the Labour government and the country’s thousands of pub landlords have very rarely seen eye-to-eye in recent months, the World Cup could bring a summer truce to this fiery dispute. Hospitality trade bodies and one of the country’s biggest pub chains have told City AM they welcome the government’s move to allow pubs to [...]
Private sector bounces back but Reeves leaves hospitality reeling January 23, 2026 The UK’s private sector expanded at the fastest rate in nearly two years in the first month of 2026 but the reeling hospitality sector was still feeling the crunch from Labour policy. The latest Flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) from S&P Global showed a major uptick in the all-important services sector, which is often seen [...]
UK tax regime is forcing pubs to raise pint prices January 23, 2026 Pubs do not want to raise prices, but endless tax pressures are giving them little other choice, writes Emma McClarkin.
Starmer and Reeves ‘credibility shot’ after pubs tax U-turn, says Badenoch January 11, 2026 The credibility of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves has faced a bruising after they were forced to make a dramatic U-turn on their business rates reform for pubs, the leader of the Conservative party has said. Ministers are set to water down the business rates bombshell slapped on pubs following fierce [...]
‘A load of rubbish’: Pubs round on Starmer’s licencing offer January 7, 2026 Pub and hospitality bosses have rounded on Keir Starmer’s suggestion that relaxed licencing laws may compensate the industry for business rates bills having risen at the Budget, branding the proposal “a load of rubbish”. The Prime Minister confirmed his government was talking to industry leaders about “what further support” ministers could provide pubs and other [...]
Britain lost one pub a day in 2025 December 31, 2025 One pub a day closed its doors in 2025 as businesses were forced to battle mounting cost pressures and an increasingly heavy tax burden. Fresh analysis from global tax firm Ryan showed 366 pubs were demolished or converted for other uses in the last 12 months. Since 2020, nearly 2,000 pubs have closed for good, [...]
Tube strikes driving you to drink? Good luck finding a pub that’s still open September 10, 2025 It’s not just frazzled commuters who’re suffering during the tube strike. London’s pubs – already under intolerable pressure from crushing business rates and burdensome and costly regulations – are taking another hit, says Emma McClarkin Listening to the radio this morning pushed home the far-reaching impact of the tube strike. We heard about a mother’s [...]