Scottish brewery and pub chain BrewDog is preparing to close six pubs in the UK amid rising costs and energy bills. The company has said there has been “no prospect of any help from a clueless government.”
The pub chain plans to close the Hop and Anchor in Aberdeen, Smithfield Market Arms in London and Hop Hub in Motherwell, Scotland, and also include the BrewDog bars at Dalston and Old Street in East London, as well as in Peterhead in Scotland.
James Watt, founder and chief executive of the company, said in a LinkedIn post that the hospitality sector faces “sheer ‘rabbit in the headlights’ paralysis of this zombie government” as rocketing costs threaten the future of many pubs, restaurants and bars.
He said it was “heart-breaking” to lose the six pubs but added:
“Reality in the hospitality space is starting to bite and bite hard. And the government needs to get a grip, now.
“If nothing happens, the UK looks set to lose half of its pubs and bars and all the millions of jobs these locations provide, as well as the vital role they play in local communities.”
A spokesman for the company said staff at the affected pubs had been redeployed in other venues, and no jobs would be lost.
This comes just a day after industry bosses warned that thousands of pubs and restaurants could go bust in the coming months.
Trade group UKHospitality called on the Government for urgent support through a package of measures lasting until March next year, including VAT cuts, to avoid “tens of thousands of job losses”.
