Mapped: Where the price of a pint has shot up the most over the past year
Punters at a few of the UK's budget boozers may be shocked to find out a pint is costing them over 40 percent more today than it was last autumn.
Group of lads refused service in Wetherspoons after ordering too much
Despite falling inflation overall, prices continue to rise at staggeringly high rates for some of the nation’s most cherished goods.
The cost of picking up the tab for alcoholic drinks increased by nine percent over the 12 months to August – a record unbeaten since March 1992.
Faced with this alarming trend, food research platform Pantry & Larder sought to find out where in the UK the price of tipple was soaring the most.
For this, they recorded the price of a pint of Carling at 803 Wetherspoons pubs in October 2022 and October 2023 for comparison.
While the average surge came in at 11 percent, this figure varied widely between cities. Check Express.co.uk’s map below to find out if your local has been plundering your wallet.
In total, 740 Wetherspoons pubs pushed up prices over the past year, while 58 saw deflation and five saw no price change.
As of October 2023, a pint of Carling went for £3.35 on average, up from £3.05 this time last autumn.
At The Rann Wartha in St Austell, Cornwall a cold one is now a staggering 42.2 percent dearer than it was in October 2022 – shooting from a nostalgia-inducing £2.49 to £3.54.
This represents roughly £300 a year’s difference to the bank account of a patron accustomed to six pints a week. This price hike was matched by The John Francis Basset Hotel in nearby Camborne.
The Thomas Frost and The Navigator, both in Liverpool, followed (31.7 percent), after which came The Beehive in London’s Brixton (30.1 percent).
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Commenting on the findings, Veronica Fletcher of Pantry & Larder said: “Wetherspoons has an extensive UK footprint, so this data provides a nice snapshot into how inflation rates vary across the country. While inflation dominates, 58 venues also saw prices come down. Interestingly, most of the pubs that saw deflation are in the North of England.”
The Wetherspoons venues where prices fell the fastest were found to be The Golden Beam in Leeds (-20.1 percent), The Myrtle Grove in Bingley, West Yorkshire (-19.7 percent) and The Prense Well in Heswall, Merseyside (-16.8 percent).
The third-largest pub chain in the UK in terms of number of venues after Stonegate and Mitchell & Butlers, JD Wetherspoon recently returned to profitability for the first time since the pandemic, reporting £43million in surplus earnings over the year to July 30.
Ms Fletcher added: “Analysts suggest that Wetherspoon's relatively low prices mean it’s benefiting from consumers swapping from higher priced venues.”
