Pubs begin closing during the daytime due to spiralling energy costs: Landlord stays shut until 5pm for two days a week after gas and electricity bills soared from £10,000-a-year to £90,000
- Pubs and restaurants have been hit by high cost of fuel and economy struggle
- It has seen at least one bar say it will have to close two days a week in future
- Gareth Hughes-Williams, runs the George Inn Plympton, in Plymouth, Devon
- He says energy costs and slow trade mean he needs to shut two days a week
The landlord of a pub says he is closing his doors in the daytime two days a week because of spiralling energy costs and slow trade.
Gareth Hughes-Williams, who runs the George Inn Plympton, Plymouth, Devon is trading at 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels and will open at 5pm on Mondays and Tuesdays.
‘Weekday lunchtimes have always been a bit quiet, and at the moment it probably costs more to open than we actually take,’ he said.
A typical household will pay no more than £2,500 per year for their energy bills, Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced under ‘bold’ new plans to tackle soaring prices that will come into effect next month.
Businesses, schools and hospitals will also receive equivalent support under a six-month scheme over the winter months.
But landlord Gareth says this does not go far enough.
Gareth Hughes-Williams, who runs the George Inn Plympton, Plymouth, Devon is trading at 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels
Gareth says energy costs and slow trade mean he needs to shut the pub two days a week
The pub confirmed its gas prices would increase from £10,000 per year to £55,000, bringing the total utility bill to a staggering £90,000.
‘They should look at business rates, they should look at a VAT cut similar to what they did in the pandemic because 20 per cent of everything we sell goes straight to the Government every quarter,’ he said.
‘Hopefully people will have more disposable income because when that goes down the last thing you’re thinking about is going to the pub and having a nice meal.’
The PM’s plan – paid for by tens of billions of pounds of borrowing – will save the typical household around £1,000 and protect billpayers from further expected rises over the coming months.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the package was welcome but reiterated that the plan ‘does not come cheap’ and warned ‘the bill will be picked up by the working people’.
Last month Andrew Turner, chief operating officer of St Austell Brewery, said he had heard from one tenant who has seen their energy bills soar by more than 400 per cent in the last week.
Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced under ‘bold’ new plans to tackle soaring prices that will come into effect next month
He told Sky News: ‘Unlike consumers, there is no energy price cap for small businesses therefore we are seeing spiralling costs for our tenants, pubs, and breweries.
‘It is totally wiping out the profits they are making, which questions why on earth they would want to open their doors going forward.’
Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of the 2,700-strong Greene King pub group, said one tenant has seen their energy bill jump £33,000 for the year.
He said: ‘Without immediate government intervention to support the sector, we could face the prospect of pubs being unable to pay their bills, jobs being lost and beloved locals across the country forced to close their doors, meaning all the good work done to keep pubs open during the pandemic could be wasted.’
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