Football fans will flock to pubs over the next month to watch the World Cup, but the price of a pint has risen sharply since the competition last took place.
The tournament begins on Thursday when co-hosts Mexico take on South Africa, and Scotland and England will begin their campaigns on Sunday and next Wednesday respectively.
It is estimated that around 55 million extra pints could be served across the UK if Harry Kane's team reach the final, which will be held in New Jersey on July 19.
For every pub across the country, this could translate to the average venue selling an extra 1,240 pints, or 14 extra kegs, throughout the tournament.
But each of those pints will cost customers almost a quarter more than during the 2022 tournament. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average price of a pint of draft beer in the UK in 2022 was £4.03.
The average price is now £5.01 across the country, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), representing a 24.3 per cent rise since the Qatar tournament in 2022. And many punters are seeing much higher prices for a pint, especially in London.
the independent has spoken to a number of pub landlords and landlords in recent months, who said the conditions they now have to operate under are as tough as ever, leaving them no choice but to increase prices.
According to the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), 593 pubs have closed across the UK so far this year amid a harsh financial climate.
James Nye, managing director of Anglian Country Inns, which runs 10 pubs in Hertfordshire and Norfolk, said the independent last year that rising energy prices and taxes – such as national insurance contributions and a cut in business rates relief – have meant the industry has been taken “from the frying pan into the fire on multiple occasions”.
Nye said: “You have to pass on the cost. We haven't passed on all of it, but you have to pass on some of it and things get a lot more expensive.”
“When customers see that we raise prices, they think we are benefiting, but in reality the government is taking so many taxes out of that pint that it is not reaching the bottom line.
“The bottom line is going down even though the bottom line is going up; I think that's what's scary. The biggest proportion of all of that is taxes.”
The BBPA says pubs only make 12p profit on a £5.01 pint, with £1.60 levied through business rates, tariffs and other taxes, while £3.29 goes to cover other costs. Therefore, they are calling on the government to offer tax relief to pubs.
The organization says English fans will pay 54p in beer tax for their pint while drinking in the UK, which is the highest price among the country's Group L competitors in the tournament.
Ghana imposes a beer tax of 44 pence per liter, above Panama and Croatia, which charge 13.8 pence and 12.6 pence per liter respectively, it says.
Although a World Cup boost could generate £275m for pubs, according to the BBPA, its chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “The government can further support our pubs and breweries by reducing beer duty to the European average so we can keep a pint affordable for everyone.”
CAMRA is also calling for a reduction in the tax burden on pubs and bars.
Its chairman, Ash Corbett-Collins, said “we risk losing these vital community social hubs forever” unless alcohol taxes, employer National Insurance contributions and VAT are reduced, along with a different business rates system.
“Running a pub business in the current financial climate is extremely difficult,” he added. “Pint prices are rising at the same time as consumers are tightening their pockets due to the cost of living crisis.
“But brewers and publicans are not to blame. Between rising alcohol taxes, grossly unfair business rates and rising employers' National Insurance contributions, plus sky-high energy bills, financial pressures have left pubs no choice but to raise pint prices or close their doors forever.”
Pubs will be able to stay open until 2am if any of the home countries reach the knockout stage of this summer's men's football tournament.
Sir Keir Starmer said on Monday that bureaucracy “should not stop fans enjoying the game with friends and local pubs also having a great exchange”.
“A pint on the pavement in the sunshine, discussing the agony of sanctions and soaking up the atmosphere is what pubs are all about and we support them,” he said.
“Hopefully we'll have a summer of fans enjoying England's big wins on the big screen in packed pub gardens.”
the independent has approached the Treasury for comment.
