Pub and bar bankruptcies across the UK were near the highest level in a decade with more than 500 businesses folding last year.
Some 512 companies went out of business in 2022, up 56% from the previous year when pandemic-related business support stopped a wave of insolvencies, according to an analysis of Insolvency Service data by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young.
The number of closures was close to the peak of 551 recorded in 2013.
The total number of licensed venues in the UK has fallen by 15% over the past decade with the annual bankruptcy rate averaging 466.
It is expected that the picture will look even worse once the £18bn energy support package tapers away from the end of March.
