Beer prices set to soar to £7 a pint in London with pubs charging 50p more across UK

The cost of a pint of beer could rise by 50p as pubs experience increased pressure from surging inflation and supply chain problems.

Punters in London would spend as much as £7 on a pint as some pubs in the capital already charge over £6.

The chairman of the City Pub Company Clive Watson said that 'pub inflation' has reached about 10%, causing the price of a pint to surge by 40p to 50p.

GB News is campaigning to scrap the VAT, as the government places a 12.5% rate on pubs, restaurants and hotels. This is scheduled to rise to 20% in April.

The British Beer and Pub Association place the average cost of a pint in the UK at £4.07, estimating that Londoners pay £4.84 on average.

UKHospitality has warned that pubs will face “unprecedented” price rises.

In London, a pint of Staropramen in The World’s End pub in Camden costs £6.70 and The Bunch of Grapes in Borough charges £6.75 for a pint of Amstel.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive, said: “This is weighing very heavily on these businesses, which have had nothing but a torrid time, and the price of a pint and a meal out will have to rise.”

Chief executive of Society of Independent Brewers, James Calder, said: "Independent brewers are not immune to rises in input costs.

“We have seen huge spikes in people costs, transport, raw ingredients and energy.

"With most brewers running very tight ships already, our sector unfortunately needs to be able to pass on these price rises to customers including the pubs in between.

"Otherwise they will go bust. No business likes to raise its prices but right now it is a necessity to survive."

The co-founder of the Forum of British Pubs and manager at The Boat Inn in Derbyshire, Dave Mountford, expressed his concerns: “We’re putting prices up now and soon we’ll break the £4 a pint on cask ale for the first time ever.

“Our most expensive pint is a premium lager and it’s £4.80 - it was £3.75 two years ago."