Anaïs Cordoba (in London), edited by Ophélie Artaud
Across the Channel, small businesses, and in particular pubs, are threatened by inflation, and in particular by the sharp increase in gas and electricity prices. Some even fear having to put the key under the door. Europe 1 went to meet a small boss, who expects to see her bill increase by 300%.
In the United Kingdom, small businesses are severely threatened by inflation. Many pubs, these typical bars, real British postcards, are in danger of going out of business. The big bosses of the sector have alerted the government. Europe 1 went to meet one of them. A pub boss for 19 years, Down has never been so worried about the future. In October, she will renew her gas and electricity contract and she expects a 300% increase in her bill. This is an increase already recorded by many pubs around it, due to the fact that in Great Britain, energy prices are not capped for companies.
“The government says nothing”
“I would have to close, it would be impossible for me to get by with such an increase. It would be impossible to put this cost on the price of a pint that people would be willing to pay, especially in the current context. Everyone is becoming more and more restricted. During the Covid, we thought it was the worst crisis we would experience in our sector. But now, I’m not so sure. There, it’s even more terrifying. At the time, when we had to close our pubs, from the start, the government announced a support plan. But currently, they are not saying anything.
Almost two-thirds of pubs in Britain are said to be at risk from this cost of living crisis. The six largest groups of pubs in the country are therefore asking the government for emergency measures, such as a cap on energy prices and a reduction in VAT.