Bradford night out is cheapest - but beer prices rise 45%

For while the city tops the UK chart for the cheapest weekend night out at £94, the price of a Bradford pint has rocketed by a gut-wrenching 45% in the past two years, according to research.

The city is just a fiver cheaper for a night out than in nearby Huddersfield, which will set revellers back £99.

But the average price of a pint in Bradford is now £4.35 compared with just £3 in 2022, with some pubs blaming supply chain problems and rising VAT – but the local branch of CAMRA says energy bills are more likely to fuel the price rise.

North Parade at the 'top of town' is a popular destination for people on a night out in Bradford (Image: T&A)

“I'm not sure where the 45% increase figure is gleaned from (and it will of course vary from pub to pub) but it’s certainly not been our experience in Bradford CAMRA,” said branch secretary Kate Ahern. “Though prices have necessarily increased we haven't seen anything like 45%.

“Our view is that breweries (particularly small and medium sized breweries), pub owners and licensees alike have been and/or are still in many cases tied in to eye-watering utility contracts. 

“That means their beer prices will almost certainly have increased at the point of purchase from breweries, and pubs have to try and stay afloat too so will have been obliged to pass on at least some of that increase as well as wrestling with other overheads. 

Bradford has plenty of long-standing pubs, as this archive image of the Jacobs Well from 1975 indicates

David Horsman, landlord of Jacob's Well in Bradford, said his prices have risen by just 12% in that time. "We've put 40p on our house ales in that time (from £3.40 to £3.80, so about 12%). We've experienced quite a rise in our costs too, especially on energy and the beers from the bigger brewers. 

"Many of the small local breweries we specialise in have swallowed up much of the increase in their own costs, so we've been able to hold our ale prices down more than on lagers. They will probably have to raise their prices more soon or we will see even more small independent breweries going out of business."

The Record Cafe, which opened 10 years ago in Bradford's 'top of town' area (Image: David Pendleton)

Keith Wildman of The Record Cafe in North Parade, Bradford, said staff and energy costs were the biggest drain on the publicans' resources. He said his staffing costs had risen by 70% since he opened 10 years ago, and that energy costs rose by 300%, but had since fallen. 

“It’s our 10th anniversary this year – we opened in November 2014. And if we just talk about cask when we first opened, our cask ales were selling between £2.80 and £3.50 a pint. That’s the range we were operating within. And now cask starts at £4 a pint and there’s no real upper limit. Probably the biggest increase has been post-Covid. 

“From the brewery’s point of view, they’ve seen the cost of steel that the casks and kegs are made of, go up, delivery costs have gone up, the price of hops has gone up, and then the big one is electricity, which affects everyone. 

“Up until 2020-2021, we were probably paying between £500 and £600 a month for electricity, and then last year or 18 months ago, that went up to £2,500 a month – that’s a 300% increase in our electricity. It’s gone back down again now, but it’s £1,100 now - so that’s doubled. 

“And then wages have gone up by 70-odd percent from 2014 so they’re the big costs to anyone. Breweries every year have to put their prices up, so most years it’s going up 2%, maybe 2.5%. We can put maybe 20p, 30p 40p on a pint, but that’s only passing on the increased costs we’re having to pay. It doesn’t take into account the fact that our wages have gone up and our electricity has gone up. So it’s pretty tough times for everyone.”

Keith Wildman of the Record Cafe

But Keith should take heart from the news that taxi fares home from his pub are some of the cheapest in Britain, taking second place at £3.55 for a one-mile journey - a 13% decrease over the past two years.

The average cost of a hotel night, McDonald’s meal, price of three pints, public transport, nightclub entry and taxi fare comes to £94 in Bradford - £52 less than the UK average. The city has the lowest hotel prices for a weekend night at £67, a 3.1% increase since 2022.

Kate Ahern added: “Bradford CAMRA (and the wider movement) has huge sympathy for those struggling, and for any that need to raise their prices to make ends meet. That Bradford remains the cheapest city for a night out is a testament to efforts being made to minimise the effects on the drinking public in Bradford.”

The online gambling site Casino.org carried out the research across the UK’s 50 biggest cities.