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Pub prices will increase this year but dont shoot the messenger

By Richard Moore

Tunbridge Wells businessman Brian Whiting owns and operates four popular gastro pubs in the area – all of which have collectively been hit with a post-budget bill for £160,000. 

That’s the extra money he will have to find to meet additional costs piled on the hospitality sector, and others, by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. 

So, what does he think the balance sheet of his business WH Pubs will look like at the end of 2025? 

“Right, well at this moment I would bite your arm off if we break even,” he told Tunbridge Wells Business Magazine. 

“When we put prices up, so we don’t go out of business, I do hope paying customers realise we are not doing this because we want to … we are doing it to survive.” 

WH Pubs currently employs 143 people across the four family-run businesses which have sites in Chiddingstone Causeway, Shipbourne and Meopham.

“To put this into context, the net result before corporation tax for year ending 30 September 2023 was £176,000. And for the 12 months to September 2024 the profit, before tax, was only £30,000. This was the impact of the utility and minimum wage increases. 

“The budget will have erased 91% of the 2023 profit and turned the small profit in 2024 into a loss of £130,000.  It will also have the effect of increasing wage percentage by 2%. So, for example, for the year ended 30 Sept 2024, the wage percentage was 43%, but it would have been 45% under these new budget rules.” 

Brian Whiting started life as a chef working at The Savoy in London before he moved onto a  Roux brothers’ restaurant in Covent Garden in the mid 1980s. He then moved into pubs, taking control of The Hare in Langton Green, which he ran for more than 10 years.  

Brian then started up his own operation with The Chaser Inn at Shipbourne 25 years ago with the help of his friend Chris Hammond – hence the B&W moniker.

Over the next few years Brian Whiting then built the group up to eight pubs. But sadly that dropped to four after the Covid pandemic. Here the publican and hospitality entrepreneur answers a few more of our questions…

So Brian, before the budget how was 2025 shaping up for WH Pubs? 

“We had just endured two years of crazy-priced utilities, which was coming out at over £90,000 a pub per year. The end to this was in sight and we expected to see a drop in these prices for 2025 – never mind the impact of food inflation, higher wages etc. I did think we had a chance to get back on top.” 

And now, post budget, what tough choices are you facing? 

“An increase to the whole operation of over £160,000! This alone is due to the headline increases we are now facing. It will be impossible to keep the business going, unless we change and adapt our model. One thing is for certain – and please don’t blame the messenger – but prices will go up.” 

Do you think that your four pubs going to survive? 

“We have some fantastic customers who I’m sure will understand the situation we have been forced into and will carry on supporting us. We are not a big PLC who have massive backing – unlike my old pub The Hare in Langton Green and others that have this sort of operation. Independent family-run like me, employ local people and support local suppliers so I hope customers consider these factors when deciding where they will spend their hard-earned money.” 

Realistically speaking, what would you like to see Government do next?  

“Let’s ignore the word realistically as they should reduce VAT for the hospitality industry which is what the rest of Europe has done for years.  Twenty percent of the bill is just wrong going to the government – along with all the other taxes collected in hospitality like duty, business rates, PAYE, National insurance etc.” 

Website: whpubs.co.uk

Instagram: @wh_pubs_

Eileen Leahy
Author: Eileen Leahy

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