Price of a pint of beer rises to £7 in some London bars as pubs reopen after lockdown

The price of a pint has risen to £7 at some bars in London with pubs hiking prices by as much as £1.10 to claw back losses made during lockdown. 

One punter said a single pint of Peroni has rocked by 60p from £6.40 to £7 in Roehampton, South West London, since the reopening on April 12.

Social media users also blasted the ‘shocking’ increase, claiming a Sam Smiths beverage has risen by £1.10.

The price hike follows breweries adding more than 12p a pint to brands including Budweiser, Stella Artois and Becks.

One consultant from a beer outlet said an increase of 4p to 5p is expected year on year, but labelled a rise of 9p as ‘absolutely ridiculous’, adding that over 12p is ‘just scandalous’.

In a letter seen by the MailOnline, drinks distributors G+G Gallo Enterprises listed price increases from suppliers that came into effect on April 5.

Among the lagers listed, Budweiser and Stella Four had the highest increase in price at 12.7p per pint, followed by Becks and Stella at 12p and Blue Moon at 9.5p (excluding VAT).

It follows MailOnline exclusively revealing on Wednesday that Star Pubs and Bars, which is owned by Heineken UK and supports 2,500 pubs nationwide, advised bosses to ‘consider reviewing’ price increases.

The group also cited a study conducted by market research companies KAM Media and CGA between May and June last year, finding almost two thirds of pub-goers ‘expected’ price rises following the first lockdown.

Industry body UK Hospitality previously warned that up to 30,000 pubs, bars and restaurants will close if ministers do not stick to the roadmap out of lockdown.

Close to 12,000 licensed premises shut permanently between December 2019 and February this year.

Marion King, consultant at family-run beer tie outlet Monico Leisure Ltd in Canvey Island, Essex, told MailOnline: ‘Breweries do go up on their prices year on year, about 4p to 5p. It is a standard thing expected in the industry.

‘However they have gone up quite dramatically. Our cider has gone up 9p a pint which is absolutely ridiculous. When they’ve gone up by over 12p a pint then that’s just scandalous.’

She added: ‘I would say to my customers to go up 10p a pint year on year. People expect that.

‘But this year we’ve had to go up 20p because the brewers have gone up that much more.

‘We’ve had to do double our staff and associated costs have gone up quite considerably because people have used Covid as a way of putting up prices, which is a shame.’ 

Raj Trivedi told MailOnline that he paid £7 for a pint of Peroni in Roehampton, saying it would have usually cost £6.40 before the reopening.

Meanwhile, one publican previously said that Star Pubs and Bars had recommended increases in the region of 10 per cent, meaning a pint of Peroni that once cost £4 would now cost £4.40. 

But it seems that some pubs have already taken up the suggestion, with eagle-eyed punters spotting huge increases in the cost of a round since the April 12 reopening.

Drinkers have taken to social media to complain that a single pint has rocked from £3.20 to £4.70 in the South West and of prices climbing by 40p in Walsall. 

Many noted that a pint of Heineken in London and Manchester now costs £5.75, saying: ‘Don’t think it would have cost this pre-lockdown.’

Pubs have revealed the cynical suggestion to pass on massive price increases to customers after landlords begged breweries for help on rent and other pandemic associated costs.  

Star Pubs and Bars’ advice has only been passed onto so-called ‘tied pubs’, those which rent premises and are tied into buying their beer from specific breweries, with many facing having to pay off huge rent debt that has built up during the pandemic. 

But the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has urged pubs to ‘keep price rises to a minimum’, warning that hikes will not help encourage customers to return to pubs at a time when they have become used to ‘cheaper supermarket booze’.   

It came as Heineken announced on Wednesday that UK sales by volume plunged by around 3 per cent in the first three months of this year and axed 8,000 jobs globally in February – almost 10 per cent of its 85,000 staff. 

One pub landlord, who spoke to the group’s business development manager and wished to remain anonymous, told MailOnline: ‘In their words, they were trying to work out the highest prices we can get from customers while they need beer. 

‘I took it as trying to get money out of people’s pockets after a very difficult year and point black refused. They also said that most people pay by card now and they don’t really check it, so are putting up prices now as people won’t notice. 

‘They recommended hiking the prices by about 10 per cent, so roughly 40p on a pint. I don’t know whether other pub companies will follow suit, but it seems to be a push for extra money within Star Pubs and Bars.

‘I certainly haven’t heard of anybody else pushing their prices up.’ 

On March 24, ahead of reopening, Star Pubs and Bars told bosses in an email: ‘If you haven’t already, now is the ideal time to consider reviewing your pricing. 

‘There was a price rise in January and research by KAM Media and CGA reveals almost two thirds of pub-goers expect price increases in pubs when they return. 

‘They will pay more to help support their local pub following restrictions – as long as they get value for money, so our advice is to do so. 

‘If you are planning on opening on April 12 and would like advice on the price increase prior to re-opening, especially around how much you should be putting your prices up by to maintain your current margins, please contact me by phone or email and I will be happy to help and discuss this with you.’ 

A spokesperson for the company said: ‘It’s not up to us to dictate pricing in our pubs, it’s up to individual pub landlords and our advice is there to help them. 

‘We know from research that people are prepared to pay a bit more for a pint and are looking forward to getting back to the pub with their friends and family.’ 

MailOnline has contacted Sam Smiths for comment.