Over 7,000 pubs expected to go bust in the next year, heaping pressure on Hunt to slash booze duty

MORE than 7,000 pubs are expected to go out of business in the next year, shock polling suggests.

Four in five have seen their profits nosedive as they have fewer customers, the survey found.

To make matters worse, 97 per cent are getting hit with higher bills.

As a result, 16 per cent of pubs, equivalent to 7,248 out of the 45,300 in the UK, say they are likely to close in the next 12 months.

The dire forecast is set to crank up the pressure on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to slash booze duty for all alcohol in next month’s Budget.

The poll of 200 pubs across Britain by Survation for the UK Spirits Alliance found 83 per cent of pubs believed it would boost their business.

But it comes after the Treasury was handed official estimates showing just £13billion of head room for tax cuts, down from £24billion at the start of the year.

Stephen Russell, co-founder of Copper Rivet distillery and spokesman for the UKSA, said: “We are devastated to see so many pubs at risk of closure, and they need better support across the board from policy makers.”

Meanwhile, Neema Rai, founder and owner of London’s Tamesis Dock and Battersea Barge floating pubs, said: “To support the current emergence and transformation of pubs and bars, the Government should support the spirits sector and get behind Britain’s world-famous hospitality industry.

"In the Budget, alongside distillers, we urge the Chancellor to back a duty cut on spirits.”

The Sun can reveal that pubs which are struggling to stay open are also now being hit by huge bills to go green.