Pubs still waiting for festive footfall after tough year

British pubs are still waiting for a lift in festive footfall after another challenging year for the trade, according to new research.

Over half (54%) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) owners, which includes pubs, will have to close if they don’t have a successful festive trading period this year and many are still waiting, according to small business insurer Simply Business.

The findings show how, in the lead up to December, small business owners reported their top three concerns: rising costs and inflation (69%), not being able to pay their bills (49%) and a negative change in consumer confidence and spending (44%).

Speaking about the challenges, Jo Diskin, owner of the Robin Hood pub based in Stoke-on-Trent, said: “Pub trade hasn’t been nearly as strong as this time last year. At this point we’re just keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best. We have fundraisers and parties booked in January and February. But have had very few bookings through the Christmas period compared to last year. If trade drops any more a lot more pubs will close, so something needs to change.”

Echoing the struggles, Ricky Graham, owner of the Crown Hotel in Newton Stewart, explained: “To be completely honest it has been absolutely brutal. From the back end of October until now, we’ve seen at least a drop by half week-on-week over the last six weeks. In the last year, the cost of living alongside the price increases of products and services has had a major impact on my business. And then we’ll have another minimum wage increase in April next year.”

Ben William, owner of The George & Dragon pub based in Much Wenlock, added: “Rising costs across the board have put pressure on margins. We’re reluctant to keep increasing prices as we don’t want to price customers out of visiting. The situation with utilities is well documented and we feel the government needs to do more to support hospitality businesses. Staffing for skilled team members is hard. We’re a chef down and haven’t been able to find a suitable candidate so have reduced our offering and made the menu simpler. We haven’t seen a festive uplift yet, with school term coming to an end we’re hoping to see more of an uplift once people are in holiday mode.”

The data revealed that almost four in five (79%) small business owners have reaffirmed how important it is for consumers to shop locally and support independent businesses over Christmas – two in five (38%) say that it is ‘absolutely critical’ for the future of their business.

Alan Thomas, UK CEO at Simply Business highlighted how “a robust Christmas trading period has the potential to serve as a much-needed tonic for the UK’s pubs” which, he explained “have been dealt a very challenging hand in 2023, especially with heightened energy costs and business rates”.

Thomas pointed out that he wanted to “encourage consumers to think about their local pubs when planning social festivities this December” and insisted that “small businesses are the lifeblood of our local communities, and with over five million of them in the UK, together they contribute trillions of pounds to the economy. They are quite simply the backbone of the economy and need our support now more than ever”