Drinkers are facing paying £14 per pint
Pension provider Penfold made the grim calculation amid soaring pub overhead costs (Picture: Getty Images)

Drinkers face paying a record-breaking high of almost £14 for a pint in three years, according to one of the most bruising cost-of-living crisis predictions yet.

The warning comes as drinkers were yesterday told to brace for £9 beers as punters face a 6% rise in pub and restaurant bills next year.

A study from pension provider Penfold predicted pints could then soar to a shocking £13.98 by 2025. 

Pub, restaurant and hotel bosses wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng warning of another wave of closures in the beleaguered industry if there was not urgent support to cover skyrocketing energy, supply and staff overheads.

Chris Eastwood, co-founder at Penfold, said of the £14-a-pint prediction: ‘Rising prices are impacting people across the UK, with almost every activity, commodity, and service observing increased costs as shown from our research.

‘The reality is the heightened levels of inflation we are experiencing do not align with how quickly wages have risen. An increase of 15.35% has occurred in the last five years, yet overall costs of living have nearly tripled by 41.27%.

‘With the cost of living expected to continue increasing it has become more important to budget for the future and set achievable pension goals. 

‘Thankfully, there are plenty of resources to kickstart saving for your future such as using a Pension Calculator, which allows you to plan ahead, secure future financial stability, and find comfort in retirement.’

People’s Assembly protest rising costs of living
A People’s Assembly protest in February against crippling bills (Picture: North News)

Wetherspoons chief Tim Martin, who is calling on the government to help by slashing tax on food sold in pubs, today told The Sun: ‘The reality has been that supermarkets have been able to subsidise the selling price of beer (which is subject to 20% VAT), using their VAT advantage on food.

‘If pubs are to survive and thrive in the future – generating a huge number of jobs as well as vast funds for the Treasury – they have to be treated fairly.

‘Fairness means tax equality with supermarkets. Anything short of that means continuing decline for a once-great British institution.’

The hospitality industry accounts for 10% of jobs in the UK, but energy price caps don’t apply to businesses so many are facing a potentially bankruptcy-inducing 300% increase to bills when renewing their tariffs.

The British Beer and Pub Association is demanding cuts to beer duty, reduced business rates for pubs and an urgent energy price cap for small businesses so bars can survive.

Hospitality trade analysts CGA reported that the most expensive pint it found was in London at a price of £8.

Around 200 pubs vanished from English and Welsh communities from the end of 2021 to the end of June, taking the total down to 39,973 bars.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said publicans are stuck ‘between a rock and a hard place’ as they attempt to cope with rising bills, while customers are cutting back on spending.

She added: ‘Pubs need to cover their costs, but they also have customers who are tightening their belts – it’s completely unsustainable.

‘It’s not an exaggeration to say what we are facing in terms of rising costs could have a worse impact than the pandemic in terms of business closures.’

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