'I've tried everything to keep my pub open'
Jon Dean has closed The Alma Tavern in Worcester after seven years, citing rising costs and reduced customer spending as the primary reasons for the decision. The publican urged the government to implement further tax cuts for the hospitality sector to prevent more closures. While the Treasury highlighted recent business rate reductions, industry leaders continue to call for additional support such as VAT reductions.
- ▪Jon Dean closed The Alma Tavern in Worcester and let go of 14 to 15 employees due to financial pressures.
- ▪Dean attributed the closure to a combination of high taxes, energy costs, and a decline in customer drinking habits.
- ▪The Treasury stated that pubs already benefit from a 20% cut in business rates and other tax breaks.
- ▪UKHospitality's chief executive noted that the tax burden for the sector has grown disproportionately in recent years.
- ▪Star Pubs confirmed that the pub was leased to an independent operator who made the decision to cease trading.
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| Original publisher | BBC News — Business |
| Canonical URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6p3gnq1752po?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss |
| Publication time | Wed, 07 Oct 2026 05:12:40 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-10-07T05:17:49.188Z |
| Last seen | 2026-10-07T05:17:49.188Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Cluster | BVgqWCtOj0ud · 1 stories |
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| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
'I've tried everything to keep my pub open'Image caption, Jon Dean said "it's a bitter pill to swallow" having to close down The Alma Tavern in WorcesterByTom EdwardsHereford & Worcester political reporterPublished3 minutes agoA publican has revealed his anguish at having to close down, saying he has been "crippled" by rising costs and a decline in customer drinking habits. Jon Dean, who ran The Alma Tavern in Worcester for the last seven years before closing its doors this week, has urged the government to consider new tax cuts for hospitality venues or face more pubs going under. He said: "We employed 14 or 15 people here but we've had to let everyone go.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at BBC News — Business.
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