Last orders: Pubs in Britain will close at rate of one a day in 2025, trade body warns

The British Beer and Pub Association calls for help to cut pub costs with 378 pubs in England, Scotland and Wales likely to call time this year

British pubs will close down at the rate of one a day this year, the industry’s trade body has warned, blaming high business taxes. At the same time, the hospitality sector has called on ministers to tackle “eye-watering” costs.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), which represents more than 20,000 pubs in the UK, said it expects 378 to close this year in England, Scotland and Wales, at a cost of 5,600 jobs.

This would mark an increase on last year’s 350 closures, continuing a long-term trend that has made more than 15,000 pubs call last orders once and for all since 2000.

The BBPA singled out business rates as one of the hardest costs for the industry to bear, but said that it was “not too late” for the government to reform the tax.