May 22 is National Beer Garden Day in the UK – and there’s really no better way to celebrate than to gather your friends and family for a refreshing drink at the local pub. However, with the number of pubs and bars across the UK continuing to decline, and a trade association warning rising fees and costs force many pubs to shut each year, supporting your local has never been so crucial.
Richmond-upon-Thames has seen a greater drop in pub numbers than any other London borough. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show there were some 95 pubs and bars open in Richmond in 2024 – down from 105 the year before and from 115 in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Using the most recent available population estimates, it suggests there were about 49 pubs and bars per 100,000 people in the area last year, which is below the 58 per 100,000 average across England and Wales.
Across the UK, there were around 37,875 pubs and bars in 2024 – down from 38,175 the previous year and the second lowest figure since records began in 2010, after a record-low 37,865 in 2021 following the Covid-19 pandemic. These figures were rounded to the nearest five.
Separate ONS figures show the average price for a pint of lager in the UK reached £4.83 in January 2025, which was up from £4.69 a year earlier and from £3.67 in January 2019. Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said the declining number of pubs and bars across the UK shows the “extreme challenges” faced by licensed premises, including “severe cost pressures”.
She warned pub and bar closures have a “significant impact” on local communities, and urged the Government to “help bring costs down and ease the pressure on businesses”.
She added: “These are hubs for people to celebrate, socialise and work in, and every single closure means people losing their jobs and livelihoods, having a significant impact on local economies. We urge the public to support their local pubs and bars as often as they can. It really is a case of use it or lose it.”
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “These figures are heartbreaking – not only because of the staff and communities that suffer when they close – but because it’s completely avoidable. Pubs are strongly trading but shocking new packaging fees, taxes, and employment costs wipe out their tiny profits and force them to shut up shop.”
She added: “The only way the Government can halt this needless decline is to give pubs the chance to succeed. They must reform business rates which penalise bricks and mortar businesses, review the chaotic packaging fees, and mitigate the impact of soaring employment costs so pubs can keep the doors open.”
The BBPA estimates taxes make up 40 per cent of brewing revenues, and said £1 in every £3 spent in pubs goes to HMRC.
Business Minister Gareth Thomas said: “The great British pub is a central part of our national identity and communities which is why we’re working hard to support them. We’re working with industry to slash red tape to speed up licensing reforms to boost the British night out and we’ve announced a permanent cut to their business rates, helping them to grow and thrive.”
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