Liverpool pubs set for price rises amid ‘terrifying’ £20 per pint claims

The chief executive of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), Tom Stainer, has claimed that the price of a pint would need to increase to up to £20, to cover the increase in costs pubs are facing.

But Mr Stainer said pubs couldn’t realistically pass on these soaring costs to customers by increasing the price of a pint by 500%. It’s a lose, lose situation for pubs and consumers, he added.

More than half of people surveyed by YouGov, for CAMRA, have said they are already unhappy with the current cost of a pint - which stands at an average of £3.95.

The July 2022 study revealed 52% of respondents said the cost of a pint was unaffordable. Prior to this, in 2019, 42% shared the sentiment, showing a 10% rise in dissatisfaction with the price, as a result of the cost of living drastically increasing.

Prices set to rise in pubs and bars

Although £20 per pint might be a bit unrealistic, prices are already set to rise in Liverpool bars and pubs.

Fiona Hornsby, owner of Bridewell in Liverpool city centre told LiverpoolWorld: “We wouldn’t be looking at that much of an increase - it’s terrifying!

“We’ve got double the utility bills and today had notification that all our drinks are going up another 6% at cost.

“We have to make some tough choices in the next few days about price increases. It’s the needs of customers versus keeping jobs. It’s all linked.”

Another local pub owner told LiverpoolWorld they felt like people were being scared away from visiting pubs by false claims of £20 pints.

They added: “The thing news reporters need to report about is the price hikes energy companies are getting away with and they still have billions of pounds of profit. Government are looking after these big companies.”

Energy costs hit pubs hard

Six of the UK’s largest pub chains and breweries recently warned that there could be mass closures across the sector if nothing is done to address energy costs and inflationary pressures.

Unlike domestic energy supplies, business energy bills are not governed by an Ofgem price cap. It has left some pub owners with bills that have quadrupled.

Award-winning Merseyside pub The Rose and Crown, in Bebington, was left stunned at the huge cost of its predicted energy bill as prices spiral out of control in the industry.

The owners recently sought out a new deal with their suppliers and were taken aback to see the ‘best offer’ come in at a rate of 97.05p per kilowatt.

“We were paying 15p/unit in May,” the renowned pub informed its social media followers.

The predicted bill energy from British Gas came in at £61,667.94 for the year - or a whopping £6,215.92 per month.

On August 23, a much-loved pub in the Baltic Triangle closed their doors for the last time, as a result of the cost of living crisis.

Baltic Social shared the news on social media, stating: “We don’t need to tell you how hard this industry is at the best of times but a combination of trying to bounce back post Covid combined with absolutely astronomical increases in energy, food and drink prices has meant that are now closing the door for the very last time on what’s been our happy and madhouse home for so long.”

Increase in the cost of a pint

According to research from CGA, reported by the Guardian in June 2022, the average UK price of a pint has already risen by more than 70% since 2008 from £2.30 to £3.95.

These statistics do not factor in the latest changes to the energy price cap, increasing from October 1 by 80%.

As pub owners face increased bills, they are forced to increase the prices they charge consumers, and they are facing lower footfall due to this.