The “bloodbath” in the pub industry is set to worsen amid warnings that more than 10,000 pubs could close during the recession.
Almost 40 a week are closing and the British Beer & Pub Association has warned that the pace of closures could accelerate in 2009.
Conservative estimates are for 2,000 pubs to close this year, amid falling beer sales, the impact of the smoking ban and the impact of the downturn on consumers’ pockets.
Sunday Express, Financial section, page 2