A pub landlord has cut his own pay to £2 per hour to stay open amid Labour’s tax and minimum wage hikes left him struggling to make ends meet.
David Leaper, 53, has run The Devon Arms in Torquay since 2019 but told the Daily Mail he has been taking just £100 for a 50-hour week for the last six years in a bid to to keep his beloved seaside boozer open through Covid and the cost of living crisis.
Like all publicans he has been hit by Rachel Reeves’ devastating tax grab, minimum wage and national insurance hikes and admitted he has come close to packing it in at least twice but only decided to carry on because of his love for the industry.
In April, the minimum wage for over-21s will rise to £12.71 per hour – meaning all his employees will be earning more than six times the landlord’s wage.
Speaking from inside the charming Devon boozer, Mr Leaper told the Daily Mail: ‘I pay myself last, once the bills and wages have been sorted and there’s not much left.
‘We’re treading water here but when I started wages were 10 per cent of turnover, now they’re 20 per cent, it’s scary.
‘I’ve just had to put my prices up 10p on every drink and I’ll have to do another increase at the end of February.
‘I’m always looking for a way to save £5, before Christmas I went and bought a lot of booze from Tesco because it’s cheaper than the wholesaler and that money can make all the difference, you’d be surprised how many publicans are doing the same.’
David Leaper has run The Devon Arms since 2019 but has taken home just £100 for a 50 hour week over the last six years to keep his pub open through Covid and the cost of living crisis
Mr Leaper admitted he has come close to packing in his pub in Torquay twice after being hit by Rachel Reeves’ devastating tax grab, minimum wage and national insurance hikes
Earlier this week Guinness maker Diageo is putting up a pint of the black stuff by 4p from April as it manages rising costs.
Other breweries are weakening favourite lagers to keep pints affordable amid next month’s rise in alcohol duty and soaring operating costs.
Under the measures announced in November’s Budget, a 40 per cent relief on business rates introduced in the aftermath of the pandemic would be scrapped.
Pubs were facing an average rise in rates of 76 per cent over three years, while hotels were to go up 115 per cent.
UK Hospitality estimated this would see the average hotel’s business rates bill increase by £28,900 in the first year and by £205,200 in total over three years, with the average pub paying £1,400 a year more initially and £12,900 over three years.
In an apparent U-turn, Reeves this week confirmed an announcement to soften the effect of looming rate rises on pubs was coming in the next few days.
Pubs are already struggling to cope with a raft of government measures including the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions and minimum wage rises, as well as the hike to business rates.
Last year, a 500-year-old boozer named The Hole in the Wall which sits next door to The Devon Arms in Torquay was shut down by HM Revenue and Customs after landlord Richard Rossendale-Cook, 81, could no longer keep up with bills.
Now in a stark warning to the Chancellor, Mr Leaper said many more would follow if urgent help wasn’t brought forward.
500-year-old pub The Hole in the Wall, which sits next door to The Devon Arms, shut down last year after its landlord could no longer keep up with the bills
Mr Leaper has warned many other boozers will meet a similar fate to The Hole in the Wall if urgent help wasn’t brought forward
He said: ‘Rachel Reeves is not doing enough to help pubs.
‘If Labour doesn’t change things and start helping us out in the next 18 months I worry the pub industry will fall apart.
‘Richard had a lot more staff than me and if he was still open now I think he’d really be struggling with covering wage increases.
‘Sometimes I lie awake at night thinking about it but all I can do is get on with running the pub and hope somebody gives Rachel Reeves a shake and reminds her that we play such an important role in people’s lives.’
Mr Leaper admitted he was losing out on customers to big chains like Wetherspoons as he couldn’t match their low prices, but insisted he plays a role in his community that chains never will.
He said: ‘We have people who come in every day just for a chat or to have a cup of coffee and it is so important to them that we are open.
‘We’re in the middle of town so a lot of our business is tourists but the last couple of years they haven’t come in big numbers, everybody is feeling the effects of cost of living.
‘We can’t compete with £2 pints but when people come in they love it and they say it makes them feel at home.
‘We let charities and community groups run quiz nights for free and we’re always looking for new incomes but there is only so much we can do on our own.’