22/07/2009 - 52 pubs facing closure every week
The pub industry has been hammered by the recession, with 24,00 jobs lost in the last year and pubs closing at a record rate, figures reveal.
A total of 52 pubs have closed every week in Britain for the first six months of the year, research for the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) showed. The figure is an increase of a third on the same period last year.
Local pubs have been most vulnerable in the economic downturn, with around 40 pubs shutting their doors every week in the first half of 2009, as the fallout of the economic downturn smashed communities.
During the same period, nine high-street bars also shut every week. However, in the midst of the collapse, branded pubs and cafe-style bars were doing better, opening two a week. It is thought pubs serving food are more resilient to the recession.
The overall rate of closure - which is calculated on a net basis - was the steepest since figures began in 1990, a spokesman for the BBPA said.
He added: "Pubs are already diversifying but unfortunately if you are a community pub you can't transform yourself into a trendy town centre bar."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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