A pint of real ale in Oxford now costs £5.42 on average up from £5.06 last year, according to a survey of Oxford pubs. This comes after the new government budget’s promise to cut a penny off a pint.
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) recently surveyed 25 pubs in central Oxford, excluding two JD Wetherspoon pubs that always sell at lower prices. CAMRA’s findings indicate a strong trend of pints rising in price, with the most common pint now costing £5.60 – a rise of over 24% from £4.50 in 2023. Additionally, 12 pubs now do not sell any ales for less than £5 per pint, double of the 6 pubs last year.
CAMRA also reported that the single most expensive pint of ale was found at the Head of the River, where a Fuller’s seasonal beer sells for £6.55. In second place was Turf Tavern, costing £6.45 for a Greene King special beer. Notably, prices at Wetherspoon pubs have decreased to £2.49 a pint, except for pints of Greene King IPA which are sold at £1.99 each. Outside of Wetherspoon pubs, the White Rabbit continues to sell the cheapest pints at £3.80.
The survey took place in light of last month’s budget, wherein Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a cut of 1.7% to draught duty tax, promising “a penny off a pint in a pub.” But pub chains warn that newly-introduced increases to national insurance and minimum wage will necessitate higher prices across pubs.
A bartender at the Three Goats’ Head told Cherwell: “Every year, most stuff in here goes up by 10 to 30p.” He explained the impact of the minimum wage increase on pubs, stating that it means “quite a lot more money that they’ve got to pay staff, so they don’t really have a choice, they have to increase prices.”
October’s budget saw the share prices of several pub chains plummet, including JD Wetherspoon, which suffered a decrease of 11.4% in a single week. Pub chain Young’s announced that they were expecting to make a loss of £11 million in light of the budget. Several experts and pub chain owners have warned of further price increases, citing the increase in national insurance contributions as the most damning factor.
