Pub owner in UK may charge £20 for pints to cover £22K energy bills

James Allcock (36), who owns the Pig & Whistle bistro in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, said that his energy and gas bills are set to soar to £22,812 (approximately €26,500) a year – while his annual bills had only cost around £2,989 (€3484) in the past.

Mr Allcock told Sky News about how he planned to keep his business afloat by implementing new measures such as "keeping labour tight" and "fitting a power socket to time off his beer cooler at night".

“I think if I can make a collective set of solutions that are small, I've got a chance of survival. I think we'll be okay but I think it will take a real set of clever solutions internally," he said.

"It's been my life's dream to have this restaurant and I'm not willing to let it go and I will fight to the end but I do feel like the band on the Titanic.

"Or that I'm rearranging the deck chairs to stop it sinking."

It seems the cost of living crisis is set to hit Ireland too as an economist warned that the price of a pint in Irish pubs could increase to €10 in “certain locations” as inflation continues to soar.

DCU Business School professor Tony Foley explained that places like Dublin city centre could see prices skyrocket within months but added that this wouldn’t be the case across the board.

“The CSO estimates an average price for a pint of stout across the country, the latest figures were for June of this year, and the price is €5.13. So it's a long way to go to €10,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.

"Basically people can get away with it, so it's the market situation,” he added.

"You're able to charge €6, €7 in some places and in other places it's €4/€4.50. The other argument, of course, is the cost involved: that the cost of running a pub is different in different locations.

“If suppliers have increased their prices by, say 5c a pint, what you will find is the publican won't increase it by 6 or 7c."

"They'll increase by some sort of multiple of that, 10 or 15c. And what they want to do is maintain their margins, but also keep the arithmetic sensible. You don't want to be charging €4.67 for a pint, it'll be €4.60 or €4.70."