Understand
Former pub landlord blames cheap supermarket alcohol and changing habits for closure
Overview
Patrick Hughes, a 66-year-old landlord in Spalding, Lincolnshire, has quit his tenancy at The Royal Mail Cart pub after a little over a year. He cited a combination of rising utility and wage bills, changing consumer habits, roadworks outside the venue, and competition from cheap supermarket alcohol as reasons for the closure. Official figures show significant declines in pub numbers across Lincolnshire, prompting calls from industry bodies for government support such as business rates relief and frozen beer duty.
Key points
- Patrick Hughes took over The Royal Mail Cart in Spalding in August 2025 but quit his tenancy with Stonegate Group after a little over a year.
- Hughes blamed rising costs, changing customer habits, major roadworks, and cheap supermarket alcohol for the pub's failure.
- Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 27% of pubs and bars in Lincolnshire closed between 2009 and 2025, with South Holland seeing a 53% drop.
- The British Beer and Pub Association called for permanent business rates relief, a freeze in beer duty, and a widening of the draught discount.
- Meanwhile, local residents near Spalding have formed a group to try and raise £600,000 to buy and reopen another closed local pub, The Ship Inn.