West Yorkshire brewery owner backs calls for fresh support amid energy bills soaring
A brewery owner in Leeds is backing fresh calls for more support, as British pubs say their average bills have surged by over 81% in the last year
Last updated 31st May 2023
UK pubs, bars and restaurants revealed their average bills have surged 81% over the past year as firms make further pleas to the Government for support.
John Kelly, the co-founder of Kirkstall Brewery told us their bills are even higher than this.
He said: “We spent a lot of time in unpredictability during covid and came back, planned our way out of it, and now a huge chunk of costs is unpredictable again”.
“Pubs and restaurants received a lot of help during the pandemic, but a lot of suppliers to the pub and restaurant trade just got overlooked”.
“We got hit twice, when our customers shutdown and when we didn’t get any help."
Energy bills rocketed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, a Government spokeswoman said: "We acted swiftly to provide businesses, including the hospitality sector, with an unprecedented package of support. As of April, this has saved them ÂŁ6.9 billion on energy costs - amounting to around ÂŁ35 million a day - and enabling some to only pay around half of predicted wholesale energy costs.
"Global energy prices have fallen significantly and are now at their lowest level since before Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine."
Trade groups warn that more venues may close permanently without relief from cost pressures.
John Kelly also said: “A couple of the pubs were on fixed rates, but a lot of them are running out now.”
“We are being approached by several different brokers and companies to tie ourselves into scary rates of energy costs.”