Recent data from Ryan found pub numbers were down 209 in the six months to the end of June 2025 with 2,283 lost since 2020.
A combination of slashing business rates relief, higher national insurance contributions, rising wage costs and packaging taxes are draining profits, the global tax firm revealed.
British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) CEO Steve Alton said: “These shocking closure figures are a direct result of the incredible pressure placed on our pubs over the past few challenging years, particularly the Budget tax rises that hit in April this year.”
Ongoing cost hikes alongside the impact of changes announced at the Budget in October last year are all having an effect on operations, the trade body boss outlined.
“Our nations’ pubs have borne the brunt of high energy costs – still at least double the cost of 2021, soaring food and drink inflation of more than 20%, and now the triple whammy of the autumn Budget: the doubling of their rates bills as relief moved from 75% to 40%, 10% rise on NICs as well as bringing part time team members into scope for contributions, and national minimum wage increasing by 50% over the past five years," he added.
“Pubs are not businesses that can take advantage of low rated properties, nor can they survive without the energy needed to cook, heat and light their venues. They have done everything they can to make their businesses sustainable, cutting waste, cost and looking after the environment as well as their local communities, but there is nothing left to streamline.”
The role of pubs in their communities requires recognition and Government action is required before more are lost, Alton warned.
He said: “Demand is still high from the public, as our ever increasingly online world gives us fewer and fewer opportunities to come together and experience real human connection – but a busy pub, collecting taxes for the Government, doesn’t equal a profitable one.
“They need recognition for the vital part they play in communities, keeping high streets alive, and being able to be the engine for growth in our economy – that means action from the Government, now, before we lose more of these British institutions.”
NTIA CEO Michael Kill outlined the impact of closures on a local and social level.
Devastating for communities
He said: “The scale of pub closures we are witnessing is devastating for communities across the country. Eight pubs a week - more than 200 in just six months - are disappearing and this is not only a blow to local economics but to the social fabric of villages, towns and cities.
“These are places where people come together, where communities are built and memories made - once they are gone, they are gone forever.
“It is particularly alarming to see pubs demolished or converted at other uses at such speed. This isn’t just about temporary closures - these venues are being permanently erased and with them, the chance or revival.
“The sector is being besieged on all sides, from rising taxes and labour costs to planning challenges that are fundamentally weakening the foundations of hospitality and the night-time economy.
“It is devastating to see the pace of losses ramping up. The Government must pay attention and act decisively.”
An unsustainable tax burden is forcing an increasing number of pubs to close, UKHospitality chair Kate Nicholls said.
“These devastating figures illustrate the pressing need for Government to act to save hospitality businesses from being taxed out of existence,” she added.
“An unsustainable tax burden is forcing more and more pubs to shut their doors for good, and that’s damaging for hospitality, the economy, jobs and our communities.
The continuing headwinds of rising costs and its impact on the industry was echoed by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) chief executive Emma McClarkin.
On the latest figures from Ryan, she said: “It’s absolutely heart-breaking and there is a direct link between pubs closing for good and the huge jump in costs they have just endured.
“Pubs and brewers are important employers, drivers of economic growth but are also really valuable to local communities across the country and have real social value.
“This is a really sad pattern and unfortunately, a lot of these pubs never come back.”
Government action needed
Previous figures from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) showed 137 pubs were lost in the first six months of 2025 and 149 have already gone this year.
Chairman Ash Corbett-Collins said: “These latest figures are yet more proof pubs are being pushed to the brink by unfair and unsustainable tax burdens.
“We warned earlier this year rising employer national insurance contributions alongside a cut in business rates relief, would hit pubs hard and sadly we are now seeing those warnings borne out in closures on a devastating scale.
“Every pub that shuts its doors is a blow to jobs, communities and our cultural heritage.
“What makes this even more devastating is so many of them are not just shutting their doors temporarily but being demolished or converted to other uses.
“CAMRA has consistently called for stronger planning protections to stop our locals being wiped out overnight.”
All organisations called upon the Government for action in the Budget later this year.
NTIA boss Kill added: “Without urgent, supportive measures in the autumn Budget - particularly on tax and planning protections - we risk losing even more of these vital institutions that sit at the heart of our culture and heritage.”
For the closures to be reversed, the Government needs to lower business rates, fix national insurance contributions and cut VAT, urged UKH chair Nicholls.
A major reform of business rates and beer duty is required, according to the BBPA’s McClarkin and CAMRA’s Corbett-Collins warned unless Government action is taken, figures like the latest ones will be just the tip of the iceberg.
