The figures come from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), which added the closure of 360 sites would result in about 5,000 job losses – more than half of these roles are currently being filled by under-25s.
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The BBPA added the average pub contributes approximately £200,000 to HMRC and the Government would therefore lose almost £72m in tax receipts including employment taxes, beer duty, business rates, corporation tax and VAT, by the end of the year if pubs are not spared.
By the end of September, 295 pubs shut, with the BBPA warning successive Budgets have exacerbated the huge tax and regulatory burden that the industry already faced, which is at the heart of many closures.
England lost 226 pubs in total, with the south-east seeing the highest number of closures (42), followed closely behind by the north-west (39) while the north-east saw the fewest closures (11).
Total closures across Britain in the first nine months of the year
East of England – 24
West Midlands – 20
South-west – 25
North-west – 39
Yorkshire and the Humber – 27
South-east – 42
London – 20
North-east – 11
East Midlands – 18
Wales – 5
Scotland – 64
Extra £322m costs
Respectively, Scotland and Wales saw 64 and 5 pubs shut their doors.
The BBPA said the impact of all the Budget measures in November 2025 added an eye-watering extra £322m business costs for pubs and brewers.
The trade body said the enormity of the closures underlines why the Prime Minister’s promised 20% business rates must be honoured.
BBPA CEO Emma McClarkin said: “When a local closes, the damage is felt far and wide. It’s not just workers, communities, our heritage and high streets who lose out when a pub closes – the Treasury loses, on average, £200,000 in tax receipts every time a local calls last orders.
“We wholeheartedly welcome the Prime Minister’s promise to cut business rates by 20% for pubs from next year which, when it comes in to effect, will be a significant help. This will build on the initial commitments to wider reform including the pub valuation methodology and a pub-specific relief recognising their unique social and community value.
Cavalry is coming
“The Prime Minister has pledged the cavalry is coming, which is why we’re asking Government to tackle the root of the problem through a permanently fair and sustainable rates burden, freezing beer duty, increasing draught relief and reviewing employment costs for under-25s.
“This will mean we can carry on keeping people in jobs, boosting the economy, and being at the heart of communities.”
For every £3 spent in a pub, £1 pound goes straight to the tax man, the BBPA stressed. This is why the BBPA is also backing the wider hospitality industry campaign for fairer VAT rates.
In 2025, the total net pub closure figure in the UK was 336. During the past five years, there were almost 2,200 net pub closures bringing the total number of pubs to 43,656 by the end of 2025.
