Does a pint in London really cost £10?
Recent reports of £10 pints in the capital will have caused many a punter to spit out their bitter in disbelief.
Pint prices in London edge higher every year, but the once-distant prospect of paying double figures for a beer has already arrived, according to some reports.
Stanley’s Rooftop Bar, perched above a four-star hotel in Mayfair, charged £11 for pints of Moretti and £10 for pints of Guinness over the weekend, according to the Telegraph. Even a half pint of the black stuff reportedly set back punters £8, far above the price most would expect to pay for a full pint.
Claridge’s in Mayfair demanded £10 for a bottle of beer, while the bar at five-star Connaught Hotel charged £10.50 for a 330ml bottle of non-alcoholic Lucky Saint beer.
£10 pints the norm by 2036
These double-digit prices seem to have arrived a decade early, with calculations by the Telegraph indicating that the average pint price in London is set to hit £10 by 2036.
But landlords across the capital were quick to make clear that these up-market destinations are nothing like their boozers, where prices are a long way off of double digits.
At present, a pint of beer in the capital costs £5.77 on average, according to CityAM’s own calculations, having risen six per cent in the last two years.
While average prices surpass £7 in pricey boroughs like Westminster and the Square Mile, pints for less than £5 can be found in a wealth of areas on London’s fringes, like Newham, Barking and Havering.
£5 pints on offer in Square Mile
A number of pubs even in the Square Mile offer pints for £5 or less, including the Paternoster Tavern in Ludgate Hill and a host of JD Wetherspoon locations.
UK Hospitality, a leading trade body representing the hospitality industry, told CityAM “we’re clearly not at the point” that a £10 pint should be keeping punters up at night.
“However, the price of a pint does continue to highlight the intense cost pressures facing hospitality. From higher employment and energy costs to rising business rates, many businesses are being squeezed from all sides,” UK Hospitality chair Kate Nicholls said.
She said: “No pub wants to keep raising prices, but for many it’s the only way to stay viable in the face of relentless cost increases. With hospitality having the highest tax burden in the economy, it’s critical that the Government brings down the cost of doing business for our local hospitality venues.”
Pubs make just 12p per pint
April saw a wave of fresh costs batter pubs and bars, as UK Hospitality polling showed that a third of hospitality firms will be forced to cut jobs in direct reaction to the higher bills, which included wage hikes and higher business rate bills.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), told CityAM that the average pint is far below £10, though the crippling costs facing the sector are forcing this upwards.
She said: “With the sector grappling with such high regulatory costs and a disproportionate tax burden, the average pub makes just 12p a pint.
“The Government’s vital business rates relief for pubs was incredibly welcome, and now we want to work with them on a long-term plan to back our pubs so we can keep pints affordable for all, keep people in jobs, and remain as the heart and soul of our communities.”