Pubs, banks and pharmacies made up half of the closures on Britain’s High Streets in the first six months of this year, according to research from accountancy firm PwC.
In the first six months of this year, a total of 6,945 shops belonging to multiples and chains (those with five or more outlets) exited Great Britain’s high streets, shopping centres and retail parks, equivalent to 38 shops per day. This marks a slight rise in closures when compared to the first six months of 2023, when 36 shops closed each day.
Openings also grew slightly, up from 24 to 25 per day. While the uplift in both openings and closures means slightly more churn, it does signal some level of stability for shop vacancies when looking back over the last three years; the net decline has stayed around the 1% mark every six months, suggesting a slow but steady decline in physical outlets as consumers increasingly undertake more transactions online, whether that’s shopping or other service transactions like banking.
The first half of 2024 saw more than two chain pubs close every day, predominantly driven by a number of larger, less well capitalised operators exiting weaker sites. Pubs have been particularly exposed to energy and labour cost inflation, while at the same time having to contend with lower consumer demand as a result of both the cost-of-living crisis as well as the trend of younger customers drinking less and older customers drinking at home.
Chain restaurants have also seen an increase in net closures, although at half the rate of their worst performance during the pandemic in the first part of 2020. Restaurants have been affected by many of the same cost and demand pressures seen by pubs, albeit openings by more successful chains have offset closures by weaker players; in fact some cuisines, such as East Asian, have seen net growth in chain outlets to date this year.
CAMRA Pub and Club Campaigns Director, Gary Timmins said:
“Sadly, these figures come as no surprise. CAMRA’s own data shows that while the numbers of pubs lost to redevelopment has slowed slightly in recent years, pub businesses are cycling through owners at a higher rate than ever before. More and more communities are facing shuttered pubs as licensees struggle to stay profitable.
“The upcoming Budget gives the Chancellor opportunity to make a real difference to UK high streets. Sticking to the Labour manifesto promise to reform Business Rates in England and cutting the draught duty rate on pints in pubs would give pub businesses a much-needed boost, giving communities confidence in the long-term future of their local.”
