The average price of a pint in the UK could soon exceed £5 for the first time, pub bosses warn, as business costs continue to surge.

Hospitality insiders say prices for customers will soon need to increase in order for venues to keep afloat. Many point to Labour’s October Budget as a key factor in rising operating costs.

From April, firms will see an increase to the national minimum wage, a rise in national insurance rates and a decrease in the threshold at which firms start paying out national insurance.

The British Beer and Pub Association said the average cost of a pint in the UK is expected to rise by around 21p as a result. The research showed that pubs are expecting to raise the average price of a pint from £4.80 to £5.01.

It spells bad news for an already beleaguered sector, as rampant inflation of the past few years has seen lager get more expensive, while the Covid pandemic led to pub closures across the UK.

The continued price rises have all resulted in a worrying trend of higher costs and less visits for most pubs. However, depending on where you live you’re likely to get a much cheaper, or more expensive, pint than others.

As might be expected, the most expensive pints can be found in London. The average price of a lager in the capital was reported to be £5.59 in August last year – 80p above the national average.

It’s long been the case that pub-goers will struggle to get a beer for less than a fiver in the city, and may even have to pay more. Data from price tracker pint-prices.com shows that some London pubs will charge as much as £8 for a pint of Guinness, despite a national of price of £5.18 for the popular Irish stout.

The figures were revealed by pub trade publication The Morning Advertiser in a survey of its readers. Their figures show a predictable North-South divide, but with a surprising twist.

When it comes to the price of lager, the UK has a mid-country ”belt” where you’ll find a cheaper pint. Across the Midlands and Wales, the average price is £4.74 – cheaper than southern regions, the North West, and Scotland.

The only place you’ll find a cheaper pint is the North East, at £4.56 on average, making lager more than a whole pound cheaper on average than in London.

In recent years, the average price of a pint across the country has risen according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Before the Covid pandemic, it was £3.70 but shot up to £4.10 in 2022, when thousands of pubs were able to return to service. It has continued to rise at a rapid rate, sitting at £4.79 in 2024, an increase of nearly 30 per cent since before the pandemic.

The pub industry has struggling at the same, as businesses try to recover from the Covid pandemic and cost of living crisis that has followed. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, 239 pubs closed, an average of 80 closures a month.

Despite this, Britain’s beer and pub sector put more than £34.4 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) into the economy in the past year, says the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA). The trade association has called for a reduction in costs placed on pubs to do business.

They are joined by many industry figures who have warned that Labour measures like increasing employers’ national insurance contributions and boosting the minimum wage will lead to price hikes in the near future.