The UK’s night time tsar has warned that pubs and restaurants will face “criminal” energy costs and that Britain should be prepared for record numbers of closures.
Sacha Lord is the night-time economy advisor for Greater Manchester lashed out at the Government’s lack of support for businesses amid rising electricity and gas prices after a local pub disclosed that it had a £6,215.92 monthly energy bill.
Just thought I might update you on the latest ‘best’ energy deal available for a pub of our size.
We were paying 15p/unit in May. This is the best quote available today. pic.twitter.com/2r5HmCcKns
— The Rose and Crown (@RoseAndCrownBeb) August 27, 2022
On Twitter, Mr Lord, co-founder of Parklife festival and Manchester’s night tsar, said: “it is an untenable situation. We will see closures like none before in our lifetime if we don’t intervene. It’s criminal.”
After discovering that the best deal would cost them £61,667.94 for 12 months, the owners of The Rose and Crown pub in Bebington in the Wirral posted the bill to Twitter. They stated that the unit rate increased sixfold in May from 15p per unit up to 97p.
Twitter users wrote: “It’s grim. We are in a contract through May. Fixed at a bargain price of only 37p per unit. We’ll have to make it through winter, and then see how the world turns out next spring. “We are being squeezed in every direction right now.”
Hospitality leaders have called for more support. Hotel, restaurant, and pub chiefs warned that the industry could be subject to mass closures without the Government’s urgent support.
The threat to businesses was warned by Bosses earlier this month in a joint email to Boris Johnson and Kwasi Kwarteng. This sector calls for a reduction in VAT or an energy price cap similar to that for households.
According to estimates by the Federation of Small Businesses (a trade group), small business owners’ bills have increased by 349pc in electricity and 424pc in gas between February 2021 & August 2022.
UK Hospitality called for “urgent action”, to assist with bills. They said the Government shouldn’t “allow the stasis party politics to stifle urgent delivery of energy action.”
