British pub goers are going to have to spend more time searching for the perfect pint after it was revealed that there are 7,000 less pubs than 10 years ago.
And the number of boozers has dropped below 40,000 in England and Wales, too, at just 39,970.
According to a new study from real estate advisers Altus Group, most of the more recently closures have been blamed on Covid or the cost of living crisis coupled with eye-watering energy costs.
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In the next few months of 2021, 200 pubs closed in England and Wales, while the West Midlands saw the biggest drop of 28 closures in half a year.
London and the East of England both lost 24 pubs each.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “When pubs are forced to close it’s a huge loss to the local community, and these numbers paint a devastating picture of how pubs are being lost in villages, towns and cities across the country.
“As a sector we have just weathered the hardest two years on memory, and we now face the challenge of extreme rising costs, with only one in three hospitality businesses currently profitable.
“It’s essential that we receive relief to ease these pressures or we really do risk losing more pubs year on year.”
In 2020, according to ONS data, there were 58 pubs per 100,000 people in the UK.
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Regionally, there was some variation, but the South West had 75 pubs per 100,000 people, while London had 40.
However, this has no led to higher unemployment in the sector.
According to the Government, there was an increase in employment in pubs by 1% from 2001 to 2018.
The data also shows employment in small pubs (employing fewer than 10 people) has fallen by 41%, too.
It's not all bad news, however, as Yorkshire and the Humber and Wales actually saw increases in the number of pubs available to punters.
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