Posted on 09/01/2022 6:38:00 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
LONDON — Like thousands of pubs across Britain, the Red Lion and Sun fears financial ruin this winter as its energy costs surge, just as business was starting to recover from the fallow years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nestled in a leafy north London suburb, the pub’s annual energy bill is on course to more than quadruple this year to 65,000 pounds ($76,000) from 16,000 pounds, said James Cuthbertson, a director of The Frisco Group, which manages the pub along with two others in the capital and southeast England.
“We need to come up with an extra 50,000 pounds in profits each year, at the same time that profits are coming to a standstill as consumers see their own prices rise at home,” he said.
The Red Lion and Sun’s dilemma is typical. Figures from energy analysts Cornwall Insight show that small UK businesses negotiating new energy contracts for the winter face on average a four- or five-fold price increase compared with deals made two years ago.
Over the same period, British wholesale natural gas prices have risen 14-fold, including a doubling since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
For Cuthbertson and others in his position, the choice is between raising prices, cutting staff, reducing opening hours, or closing entirely.
(Excerpt) Read more at financialpost.com ...
The Tory Government that has been in power for about 12 years has created this mess thru a number of different Prime Ministers, they will likely get devasted in the next election bringing the Labor Government, there is no telling what happens to the UK after that.
Probably true and a Labor Government will deliver the kill shot.
I think one thing they might try is to nationalize the power companies going back to the UK before Thatcher, nationalizing the power companies will only make things worse, they will sell it by saying they accelerate the green energy push to alleviate the problem.
Since Britain used to depend so much on coal, that gave the unions great leverage, and when they went on strike it caused blackouts throughout Britain.
All this caused by a world wide non-existent climate change agenda AND....sanctions which we know don’t work) on Russia.
Politicians pushing Global Warming is greatest threat to the World , but don’t the Brits drink warm beer so money saved with refrigeration
There will be more lockdowns in the UK this winter.
Just like Tucker said
—”UK pubs brace for mass closures as energy costs soar”
If they aren’t spending to refrigerate the beer and many are dimly lit with no AC...
What changes?
It’s honestly like we are under assault from our own leaders. And the other poster makes a good point, in the UK this is being done by our own side. How is any business supposed to sustain a cost increase of that magnitude?
They are paying $0.41 per kilowatt hour for electricity in the uk. It is expected to go even higher.
Gonna be some pissed-off drinkers...
Heat with wood, light with candles, the beer is warm anyway, man, you talk about traditional! So, of course, are plague and freezing to death, but if the point of the Green movement is to turn Britain into a Dickens novel, they’re on their way.
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