For Mel Keogh, owning her own pub was a dream come true – but little did she know that within two years of taking ownership, she would soon be regularly serving rounds of tap water alongside pints, and worrying how she would be able to pay her bills.
In 2022, British nightlife is staring down the barrel at possible extinction. But how has this once thriving industry that once turned over £112 billion in annual revenue, and boasted some of the most revered clubs in the world, found itself struggling to make ends meet?
Cashflow, lockdowns and a change in drinking habits have all played their part.
Mel admits that when she first bought the pub in 2019, she had little experience in hospitality, bar pulling pints for four months in a brief foray outside of the finance industry in which she worked. However, the 35-year-old felt eager to tackle a new challenge, so when the Angel and Crown, a troublesome pub in her local area of Bethnal Green, came up for sale, she seized the opportunity.
And she certainly got the challenge she wanted: just three months after opening, the coronavirus pandemic meant the pub was forced to close.
Ever the pragmatist, Mel found creative new ways to keep the business going.
‘It was actually quite exciting,’ Mel admits. ‘I knew I could serve takeaways. When you could only drink with a meal, I’d cook a huge stew so people could still come to the pub and socialise.
‘We weren’t making a massive profit – I had to rely on government handouts and a bounce back loan, but we could get by.’
However, the numerous lockdowns were merely the start of a substantial domino topple for the nightlife industry. Now, venues are finding themselves pummelled by further numerous economic factors, leaving British pubs and clubs fighting to survive.
Mel tells Metro.co.uk that she fears the Angel and Crown may not make it through the winter.
Mel bought the Angel & Crown in late 2019, three months before the coronavirus pandemic hit (Picture: Supplied)
Mel has been forced to work ambitiously and exhaustively to ensure the survival of the venue (Picture: Supplied)
‘My energy bills are ridiculous,’ she sighs. ‘I’m not getting the customers I need to keep going.
‘This period is worse for us than Covid, as we don’t have any government support. Honestly, I don’t see how I’m going to survive.’
A recent study shows that, on average, fifty pubs are closing across the country every month. Both small businesses and the industry’s biggest players are taking a substantial hit; Wetherspoons has put 32 of its venues up for sale, after previously warning that it could lose £30 million.
Nightclubs are not immune from the ominous financial black cloud hanging over venues, either. Ordnance survey data has shown a 9.4% drop on late night venues on the high street, with one nightclub in the UK closing every two days. Should this trend continue, every nightclub in Britain will be shut by 2030.
It’s a worrying state of affairs, says Michael Kill, the CEO of the Night Time Industries Association.
‘Nightclubs and pubs were at the sharpest end of financial constraints during Covid,’ he explains. ‘If you are purely a drinking establishment, or a club, you are either closed or didn’t have the ability to open for huge proportions of the pandemic period.
With less money in people’s pockets, clubbing has become a less desirable activity (Picture: Getty Images)
Around 50 pubs in the UK are being forced to shut every night (Picture: Getty Images)
‘A lot of venues are now left with a legacy of debt where they were forced to borrow extensively, or remortgage to survive.
‘We’re now being hit with potential higher taxes on alcohol, as well as the war on Ukraine seeing energy bills shoot up. This has all culminated in places seeing vastly increased costs over a period of around eight months. It’s getting to a point that, for many, it’s untenable.’
It’s particularly worrying for many venues that, even during the usually lively winter, pubs and clubs are significantly quieter than before. The period spanning September to the New Year is known in the industry as the ‘golden quarter’; comprising Freshers Week, Halloween and the festive period, this is where venues usually make the vast bulk of their money which is often used to paper over more difficult periods.
However, Michael has learned that for pubs and nightclubs, numbers have not matched pre-pandemic heights.
It’s not just the venues that are struggling with cashflow issues – the cost of living crisis has hit even the most dedicated of punters.
Izzy Rose, 23, went out every weekend when lockdown lifted last year. The London-based marketing executive would start the night in her local with her mates for pre-drinks, before heading to a nightclub – usually somewhere like Fabric, with tickets anywhere upwards of £20 (but often far more). Sundays were spent back at the pub, discussing the night before over a large roast.
In these halcyon days post-lockdown, Izzy would think little of spending around £200 on a big night out – but as the cost of living has spiralled, she has found herself massively cutting back.
‘It’s completely unfeasible now,’ she tells Metro.co.uk. ‘In my flat alone, our bills have doubled. We’ve obviously had to prioritise paying those instead of going out drinking. The last three weekends I’ve spent indoors, unable to do anything because I can’t afford it.’
Nights out like this are now few and far between for Izzy and her friends (Picture: Supplied)
That’s not to say Izzy and her friends have ditched the sesh entirely – they just want more for their money when they do choose to go out, rather than just sitting in a boozer, spending upwards of £8 for a glass of wine.
‘There’s so many alternatives popping up,’ she explains. ‘I was at a crazy golf bar the other day. Those places are more popular because you’re not just spending money on drinks,you’re getting an experience as well.’
Abby O’Gorman agrees. Now in her forties, and with two children, the thought of shelling out for a big night out, dancing until the sun rises, sounds like a headache. Instead, she and her partner opt for days out, hiring a babysitter while they enjoy an ‘experience’ rather than a pub or club, near their West London home. For special occasions, like a birthday or anniversary, they can spend around £80 per ticket for an immersive event, but their budget is usually around £50. Recently, they went to Waterloo’s Alice in Underground immersive theatre event, which set them back £45 each.
‘I think these immersive experiences are catering more to people in my age bracket, who do have a little more disposable income,’ the honeymoon and travel planner explains. ‘You just need to look at the price of tickets, such as to the theatre, to see a lot of people are going to be priced out.’
Meanwhile, Abby prefers to spend her income on experiences rather than drinking (Picture: Supplied)
Another factor venues have to endure is how the pandemic served as a catalyst in shifting our drinking behaviours.
‘People have adopted new habits,’ pub-owner Mel explains. ‘With pubs no longer an option during that period, people went to the supermarkets offering deals on booze, which would be cheaper than going to your local.’
The hangover of lockdown may have also seen a substantial change in our cultural attitudes to drinking, with a growing interest in non-alcoholic beverages and general teetotalism, particularly amongst Gen Z.
According to DrinkAware, the 16-24 age bracket is the least likely to drink, with over one in four of them (26%) shunning alcohol altogether.
A more health conscious youth is now eschewing nighttime venues, with one first year student, based in Liverpool, telling Metro.co.uk that ‘high prices, overcrowding, and fear of spiking’ are why she’s choosing to bypass her local.
The general shift in behaviours and attitudes has seen Mel offer new drinks and try different ‘nights’ at the Angel and Crown.
Younger generations are less taken with drinking compared to their older counterparts (Credits: Getty Images)
As well as slightly lowering price to encourage punters, and teaming up with Citystack, an incentive that offers £10 off a £20 spend at the venue, Mel has tried regular quiz nights and karaoke nights to draw crowds in. She has also put her first non-alcohol beer on tap, which has proved surprisingly popular.
‘You can see they still want to be in the pub, but understandably, they just don’t want to spend.’
But for all the efforts she’s making, Mel acknowledges it’s hard when there’s an ever changing glut of challenges on the horizon.
It’s the rapidly rising cost in energy bills which is causing the most problems, with many venues needing to run industrial size fridges 24 hours a day to keep booze chilled.
‘Some places have told me they’re seeing over a 1000% increase in costs,’ Michael explains. ‘Energy used to be fourth in terms of key costs in our industry, now, in some places, equal to rent and business rates.’
With the cost of living crisis causing customers to have less money in their pockets, pubs and clubs in general are seeing less footfall. It’s leading to what Michael calls ‘an inflationary circle’ – the lack of demand forces venues to up prices, which leads to fewer sales: repeat ad nauseam.
It’s something Mel has really noticed. Running the pub entirely on her own now without paying herself a wage, as she cannot afford to hire staff, she has noticed her regulars are reluctant to spend money.
‘I had a group come in to play board games,’ she recalls. ‘They all ordered tap water. Others will come in and nurse one pint for hours.
Printworks London is being closed next year to make room for office spaces (Picture: Peter Summers/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, nightclubs across the country are forced to close every two days (Picture: Peter Summers/Getty Images)
But while there is still the appetite there for many to go out, it may be all for nothing if the venues to hold events are forced to close entirely.
If it’s not down to being priced out the market, planning has forced numerous venues to shut up shop. The iconic Printworks venue, in Surrey Quays, is being closed by Southwark council after six years to be turned into office spaces – the latest nightclub to fall victim to planning permission.
The desire for people to go on a big night out, but the lack of venues to accommodate them, could very much lead to unregulated parties and underground raves making a comeback, Michael argues.
‘There has always been an underground scene, but clubs were put in place so we could enjoy culture in safe environments,’ he explains. ‘Nightlife is a huge part of our cultural tapestry. It has a part to play in terms of the social and physical wellbeing of many people.’
Michael adds that it seems downright bizarre that the government is not willing to see just how important – and lucrative – this sector is, especially as the industry in the UK is responsible for over 300 million nightlife tourists per year.
Heading to nightclubs could be a thing of the past, if closures continue at the same rate (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
The nightlife industry contributes billions to the UK economy – but is largely ignored (Picture: Gary Wolstenholme/Redferns via Getty Images)
‘There’s a wilful neglect of nightlife culture in this country,’ he says. ‘Pre-Covid, the nightlife economy turned over £112 billion annual revenue and contributed £50 billion to the Treasury. It employs nearly two million people. If it goes, what will plug this hole?
‘We need to look at places like Berlin and Amsterdam, where they really value their night time economy because they can see how much value they add to their cities.’
For Mel, she’s still trying to power through the Christmas period. She is working solidly with no days off, roping in friends to help her run the pub as a favour while the World Cup is on.
But she fears that, no matter what she throws at it, this Christmas may be the Angel and Crown’s last hurrah.
‘I’m two months in arrears on rent as it is,’ she says. ‘I just can’t pay the bills, and it’s such a scary time.
‘I opened this pub in the first place to bring people together. Pubs are the cornerstone of British life – they’re places where you can connect with people who you love. We can’t just lose them forever.’
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Some clubs reported an 1000% rise in energy bills.
