Northern Irish pubs face tough choices

The State of the Industry survey by the Pubs of Ulster trade group reported that 16% had seen a drop of 20-30% in trade over the past year, 7% a decline of 30-40% and 6% reported trade down 40-50%. Only 23% said there had been an uplift of between 0-10%.

The survey also showed that 14% are seeking to sell their business while 8% are anticipating closure and 22% are in trouble on some level. A third (34%) have been forced to lay-off staff in the past 12 months and 62% has reduced staff hours. Over half (52%) predicted they will have to reduce staff hours in the coming year and 22% said they may have to lay off staff.

Publicans blamed the economic recession (23%) and below cost sales of alcohol in supermarkets (22%) for the downturn in business. Most pubs in Northern Ireland are owner operated.

Pubs of Ulster chief executive Colin Neill said the results were “extremely worrying”.

He said: “Confidence in the current business performance of many pubs is extremely low and many publicans are only expecting an average business performance over the next twelve months.

“Whilst many publicans in Northern Ireland have proved their resilience in extremely challenging times by continuing to trade, many are now faced with difficult choices regarding the future of their business including reducing staff hours, staff layoffs and even closure.

“Against this backdrop, Pubs of Ulster is continuing to push for change on a local and national level in order to help pubs deal with the current economic climate, reduced margins, increased overheads and further changes in regulation.

"It is clear from the findings of our survey that more needs to be done by both the Northern Ireland Assembly and the UK Government to ensure the long term survival of the industry.”