'I've tried everything to keep my pub open'
A pub landlord forced to close down says more venues face similar closures without more tax cuts.
'I've tried everything to keep my pub open'
Jon Dean said "it's a bitter pill to swallow" having to close down The Alma Tavern in Worcester
A publican has described his distress at being forced to shut up shop, saying he has been "crippled" by rising costs and a fall in the amount customers are drinking.
Jon Dean, who operated The Alma Tavern in Worcester for the past seven years before closing its doors this week, has called on the government to look at fresh tax cuts for hospitality businesses or risk seeing more pubs fail.
He said: "We employed 14 or 15 people here but we've had to let everyone go. It's a bitter pill to swallow."
A Treasury spokesperson said pubs "were already benefitting from a 20% cut in business rates", with Prime Minister Andy Burnham previously describing it as "the first step" to support the industry.
Dean, who also lives above the pub, now has to look for somewhere else to live after deciding to hand the business back to the brewery, Star Pubs.
"We've been trying to keep it going but there's no light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
"Hospitality has taken a battering. We've had the utility crisis, the cost of living crisis [and] now the war in Iran.
"All of that has had an impact on prices, but when you add in employer's national insurance contributions, rocketing minimum wage, rocketing VAT, business rates, all of that pressure has crippled us," he said.
The Alma Tavern in Worcester, which has now ceased trading
Dean told the BBC that customers were spending less, which he blamed on cost of living pressures.
"People used to come in four or five times a week and they'd have four or five pints, but those days are gone," he said.
"Now we'd maybe see them once or twice a week and they might only have a drink or two - people just haven't got the money.
"I've tried everything to keep the pub going, but it's like flogging a dead horse.
"A place like this turns over maybe £800,000 a year, but once you've paid out your taxes, your energy bills, your wages, it's pretty much all gone.
"Taxation and the cost of everything is just far too high," he added.
In July, the government cut business rates for pubs.
But last month, more than 800 businesses, including top UK chefs, wrote an open letter to the PM, saying that without a VAT reduction there would be more pub and restaurant closures.
Allen Simpson, chief executive of the trade body UKHospitality, said the tax burden on the sector had "grown disproportionately" in recent years.
"We have already seen promising signs from the new government in its approach to hospitality - I hope this (forthcoming) Budget will see further backing for the entire hospitality sector," he added.
A Treasury spokesperson said: "The chancellor has prioritised support for the hospitality industry in his first week in the job when he cut business rates by 20% for pubs, social clubs and live music venues, saving thousands of [pubs] over £1,000 a year.
"This is on top of providing a tax break on poured pints and capping corporation tax."
A spokesperson for Star Pubs said: "While Star Pubs owns The Alma Tavern, it is leased to an independent operator who runs it as their own business and has taken the decision to close the pub."