For the first time since records began, Britain has fewer than 100,000 venues serving alcohol as drinkers shun pubs and clubs due to the soaring price of a pint of beer or glass of wine.
About 44,000 pubs, restaurants and hotel bars have closed their doors for good in the past two decades — equivalent to six every day — new figures reveal.
There were 99,916 licensed venues at the end of September, according to analysis by consultancy CGA/NIQ — the lowest number since records began three decades ago. To stop the decline, hospitality leaders have urged Jeremy Hunt to provide tax breaks to the sector in the chancellor’s upcoming autumn statement.
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