UK pub chains warn of price rises due to increase in food and fuel costs

theguardian.com:

Two of Britain’s largest pub groups have warned punters may have to pay more for a meal and see fewer discounts on the menu as they struggle to absorb rising energy and food costs.

The pub and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers, which runs pub chains including O’Neill’s and restaurant brands such as Harvester, said it was facing a difficult trading environment.

Its rival Marston’s said it was working to mitigate inflationary rises through a combination of cost-cutting and “pricing strategies”.

“Cost headwinds present a significant challenge to the industry, particularly those costs related to utilities, wages and food,” said Phil Urban, the chief executive of Mitchells & Butlers.

Mitchells & Butlers, which has 1,600 UK venues and also runs chains including All Bar One and Toby Carvery, forecast that its costs for the full year would be about 11.5% higher than in 2019, lifting its cost base above £2bn from £1.8bn previously. It predicted its costs could rise by another 6% next year, depending on the volatility in energy markets.

The London-listed hospitality group said it had already bought about 80% of the energy it will need for this year, and about 10% of next year’s requirement.

Urban said the company had already increased some of its prices by about 3% in April, but had chosen not to introduce “blanket price rises”.

“We tend to be a little bit more sophisticated than that; we try to protect entry dishes and entry products and we try to put more premium offers on to allow people to ladder up through the menu if they want to. And by doing that, you can drive spend,” Urban said.

Marston’s, which runs about 1,500 pubs, said it had reduced the numbers of dishes and menus available in its venues, after a review that it said had