‘Energy bills have overtaken wages’: 280-year-old pub at risk of closure

theguardian.com:

When the Faulkland Inn first opened its doors, George II was on the throne and Britain was at war with Spain. Since then, the 280-year-old coaching inn has weathered a dozen recessions, two world wars and the Covid pandemic. Now soaring energy bills have proved a battle too far. The village pub near Bath is facing closure with the loss of eight jobs because it can no longer afford to keep the lights on.

“Our gas and energy bills have doubled since April and we’re facing annual fuel costs of at least £20,000, which will wipe out our profits,” says the landlord, Andy Machen. “Until April we needed to make £2,500 over the four days a week we are open in order to break even; now we’d need to make £4,000 and are paying staff out of our personal savings.”

The pub is one of hundreds of hospitality venues facing the risk of extinction across the UK because of the soaring cost of fuel. The energy price cap imposed by the regulator for Great Britain, Ofgem, to protect consumers does not apply to businesses who pay, on average, double the capped rate for gas and electricity and, while householders are to receive government payments to help pay for energy bills, there is no such support for small companies.

Machen, who bought the inn with his wife three years ago, says that with the focus on household fuel costs, family-run firms have been forgotten. “The government gave us thousands of pounds to see us through the pandemic and at the start of the year we were on track to recover, with plans to extend our guest accommodation,” he says. ‘Then, out of nowhere, the bills doubled and there was no time to plan or budget for it. Our eight staff will receive government handouts to help pay their own energy bills but they will no longer have a