London is losing a pub roughly every two weeks, new figures reveal, as rising costs, mounting tax pressures and changing drinking habits continue to take their toll on the capital’s beloved boozers.
While the pace of closures has slowed in recent years, the capital's pub scene continues to shrink, with dozens of pubs disappearing from communities across the city.
Over the past five years, London has suffered a net loss of 172 pubs between 2020 and 2025, representing a 4.7 per cent drop in the number of establishments.
The worst year for pub closures was 2022, when the capital lost 44 pubs.
Since then, the decline has eased, with annual net losses falling to 28 in 2025.
But despite the slowdown, the latest figures suggest London's traditional locals are still facing an uphill battle for survival.
People drinking outside the Three Greyhounds pub in Soho
Getty
The picture is equally bleak across Britain, with figures suggesting the country has lost almost one pub a day so far in 2026.
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) warns the closures could also cost the industry around 5,000 jobs, more than half of which are currently held by under-25s.
The figures come despite fresh efforts to ease the pressure on struggling landlords, including a 15 per cent discount on business rates for the current tax year and a further 20 per cent cut from next year.
But industry bosses say more needs to be done to tackle the pressures driving pubs out of business, urging Prime Minister Andy Burnham to take further action.
Ms McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, warned that the impact of losing a local stretches far beyond the bar.
She said: "Pubs are part and parcel of London’s history and present so, when a local closes, the damage is felt far beyond that one pub.
“It’s not only workers, the local community, and that part of the capital that loses out, but the Treasury, on average, loses £200,000 in tax receipts every time a local calls last orders.
A bartender pours pints for takeaway customers at The Ten Bells pub in east London
AFP/Getty
"The Prime Minister has pledged that the cavalry is coming, which we wholeheartedly welcome, and we’re asking the Government to tackle the root of the problem through a permanently fair and sustainable rates burden, freezing beer duty, increasing draught relief and reviewing employment costs for under-25s.
“This will mean we can carry on keeping Londoners in jobs, boosting the capital’s economy tourism, and being at the heart of communities.”
It comes amid a row over proposals from Westminster City Council to discourage people from standing up while drinking in London pubs and bars.
The council is looking for ways to manage crowding, anti-social behaviour, noise disruption, and street drunkenness in the West End and Soho.
But critics say the proposal would further damage London’s pubs, arguing it destroys the spontaneity of British pub culture.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan heavily criticised the plans, saying: “You can't run a world-famous nightlife district with a village-hall mindset.
“London's hospitality and nightlife support jobs, culture and growth.
“New powers for City Hall will help ensure decisions consider the wider benefits for our city.”