Thousands of restaurants and pubs closing across UK blame soaring bills among pressures they face

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. However, he said, “The biggest pressure, what has tipped people over the edge, is the cost of energy.” open image in gallery Kerridge’s restaurant was quoted a 700 per cent increase on its utility bills last year Kerridge’s flagship restaurant The Hand & Flowers, in Marlow, which is the only pub in the UK with two Michelin stars, was quoted a 700 per cent increase on its utility bills last year, he said. open image in gallery Kerridge’s pub The Hand & Flowers in Marlow the only pub in the UK with two Michelin stars Martin McTague, national chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “Increasing rents and input costs, coupled with inflation, high energy prices and low consumer demand have been chipping away at the hospitality industry, to the extent that more than half of small businesses in the sector are experiencing falling revenues, as well as rock bottom confidence levels. open image in gallery Simon Rimmer, 60, who is a co-presenter on Channel 4’s ‘Sunday Brunch’, called last Tuesday a ‘heartbreaking day’ as he confirmed the closure of his vegetarian restaurant Greens The organisation’s research further shows that more than half of small hospitality businesses have come up against a significant increase in their running costs – of more than 10 per cent – in the last year. open image in gallery Tony Rodd, who was a MasterChef finalist in 2015, described how ‘devastated’ and ‘heartbroken’ he and his team are as he similarly announced the closure of his restaurant Copper & Ink In a video posted to Twitter/X, Rodd also predicted the closure of many more independent restaurants in the near future, as the hospitality industry buckles under the combined strains of Covid, Brexit, the cost of living crisis, and soaring energy bills.