Kerridge hits back at pint glass thieves

He was joined by TV presenter and brewer Jaega Wise to discuss the issue of glassware thefts on Good Morning Britain yesterday (Thursday 19 March).

Research cited by the TV programme from Simply Business showed more than a third (35%) of Brits admitted to stealing a pint glass in the past year, totalling 38.1m stolen receptacles, costing more than £133m.

Kerridge said: “You might think we get all of these for free but we don’t, you get a small amount and you have to buy the rest.”

Finance impact

TV presenter and brewer Jaega Wise told GMB: “Of course it’s not a victimless crime. It costs breweries and it costs pubs a lot of money.

“At the end of the day, anything that costs pubs and breweries more money, eventually will up in the price of our pints.”

She added: “It doesn’t help taking glasses from a pub because everyone is stretched in so many areas, pubs and breweries.

“It seems like something that only cost £4 or £5 but it ends up costing pubs and breweries a huge amount of money in the long term."

A survey of GMB viewers found 46% of them said taking a glass home was a victimless crime.

Fine margins

Furthermore, the duo outlined the challenges faced by the sector including price hikes and employee cost increases.

Kerridge added: “It’s an industry that operates on such fine margins anyway.”

Last month (February), Kerridge warned business rates risk pushing pubs into a “race to the bottom”.

He also appeared on BBC’s Question Time where he called for a reduction in VAT, arguing cutting it from the current 205 rate was “the only way” to save front-line hospitality, pointing to lower rates across much of Europe.

This came after he highlighted the impact of rates increases has on his four pubs, saying the tax was “killing pubs off”.