Pub rents fall to record low

Date Published: 23-Dec-2008

PUBS in County Galway are being leased for as little as €250 a week as the downturn in the trade has made the high rents of recent years a thing of the past.

The owners of pubs in rural towns in particular have dropped rents by more than 70 per cent in some cases in order to keep their premises open.

It comes at a time when dozens of hard pressed rural publicans across the county are be anxiously monitoring their volume of trade this Christmas with many considering calling time on the industry for good.

They will be using their Christmas turnover as a benchmark in deciding whether or not to remain in business in the New Year – sources within the industry suggest pub closures on a significant scale.

And many rural publicans in Galway have not even ordered stock for the New Year as they consider their position over the next couple of weeks.

Recently in Tuam town, two pubs in prime locations were leased for around the €300 mark and it is possible to rent a premises for even less than this. It means that pubs can be…