Thousands of Britain’s pubs, restaurants and hotels have run out of cash reserves, leaving them in a “perilous state”, according UK Hospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association, the British Institute of Innkeeping and Hospitality Ulster.

The joint survey by the hospitality industry’s biggest trade bodies found that a quarter of venues had exhausted their cash.

It warned that venues could at “the slightest shock” be forced to close.

Between December 2019 and December 2023, the number of licensed premises fell from 116,203 to 99,113, a net loss of 17,090 venues.