Pubs are also disappearing at an increasingly rapid rate. At the beginning of last year, around fifty pubs closed their doors each month. Café owners suffer, among other things, from high energy and food costs. High taxes on restaurant establishments also play a role.
Things have not been going well for British pubs for some time now. In 2022, Altus Group claimed that the number of pubs in England and Wales had fallen to its lowest level ever recorded, falling below 40,000 for the first time, 7,000 fewer than a decade earlier. There are currently 39,162 pubs left in England and Wales. The BBC said at the time that many pubs had closed their doors because young Britons had started drinking less and supermarkets were selling alcohol much cheaper.
