Londoners have been commiserating over the outrageous amount they’re paying for one thing in the capital. Travel, rent and food costs have all shot up in price over the last few years but there is one thing that seems to be so shockingly expensive that people can’t stop talking about it.
Gone are the days when you used to be able to go to the pub with a fiver and come back with change. But now you may even only just about scrape coming back with change from a tenner at some London drinking spots.
One poster on Reddit said that they paid a staggering £9 for a pint when out in central London. They said: “I work in the City and nearly fell over when charged nine pounds for a pint recently. Also £24 for a large G&T.
"I don’t even spend £24 on bottles of wine at home. A more senior colleague probably on more than twice my salary was also aghast at a £9 pint.”
'Deep down, I was fuming'
Another poster had a similar experience: “I spent £8.40 on a pint. To the untrained eye, I was a normal person happy to pay that. But deep down, I was fuming and having a major panic. I think everyone’s feeling the same.”
Why is the cost of a pint so high in London?
Rising rents, staffing costs, duty and business rates have all been ingredients in the recipe for the £9 pint in London. Zubin Sethna, Professor of Entrepreneurial Marketing & Consumer Behaviour at Regent's University London, said: “It's almost like saying a pint of Soho is carrying the weight of London's property market on its shoulders.
"The median market rate for rent is so high nationally, living wage and London living wage have also gone up. In hospitality they have to match these rates or loose staff - the money has to come from somewhere. My heart goes out to the publicans because many people don’t think about the full costs."
Changing drinking and working habits are also affecting London's night-time economy. Young people are drinking at home to avoid high costs, while lunch time office pub trips are less frequent with the increase in home working, says Professor Sethna.
Other drinking models, like doing so at home, are likely to become more popular as the price of a pint continues to rise - leading to a two-tier drinking culture of those who can afford to drink out and those who can't, he added.
How can I get a cheap pint?
Luckily, there are plenty of ways of finding cheaper ways to drink in the capital. Cheapest Pints is an interactive map which shows all of the spots in the city where you can grab a drink for a decent price.
Cheapestpint states: "Explore the cheapest pint prices across pubs in London and the UK. See their locations and other amenities like beer gardens, live music and live sport. Contribute your own pint prices too. This website relies on fellow pint drinkers (or anyone!) to contribute pint prices. Please be as accurate as possible, the more contributions we get, the more helpful we are!"
Got a story? Please get in touch at katherine.gray@reachplc.com
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