The owner of an award-winning Kent pub fears rocketing energy costs could be the “final nail in the coffin” for many in the industry.

Marc Bridgen, who runs The Dog at Wingham, says its annual utility bill is set to almost triple to £101,000 this autumn.

It comes at a time when hospitality businesses are still recovering from the devastating effects of the Covid pandemic, and now face the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

Mr Bridgen says that unlike domestic consumers, there is no price cap for commercial businesses, or extra support from the government to mitigate the crippling increases.

“In real cash terms, I am forecasting a total increase [in our energy bill] of £5,574 in November alone,” he said.

“And for a 12-month period, I am estimating our total utility bill of £34,000 increasing to £101,000.”

On top of rising gas and electric prices, the cost of food and other supplies for the pub is also spiralling.

“I don’t know what our business and many, many others are going to do to survive, because you can’t keep on putting up prices..."

Mr Bridgen says tomato prices have doubled, chicken is up 60%, cooking oil by 50%, and alcohol by as much as 15%.

The business - which in 2019 scooped the Best for Food title at the Great British Pub Awards - has also seen a 12% rise in the cost of its linen services.

“With the current economic climate we are only forecasting a small profit this year as it is, or just breaking even, and the utility bill could be the final nail in the coffin,” Mr Brigden says.

“I don’t know what our business and many, many others are going to do to survive, because you can’t keep on putting up prices.

“The current inflation and staffing challenges are making life/business nearly impossible, but we are surviving - just.”

The Dog, which also has eight B&B rooms and recently won a Muddy Stilettos 2022 award for Best Boutique Stay, employs about 30 staff.

“The current conversation is about households unable to pay energy bills, but without jobs in businesses like The Dog, households are not going to be able to pay any bills,” he added.

Mr Bridgen has written to the MPs for Canterbury, South Thanet, Folkestone and Hythe, and Dover, asking them to meet with him at The Dog to discuss the issue.

"What would help us enormously is a cut in VAT..."

“I’ve had a sympathetic response from South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay, but he’s basically saying there’s nothing the government can do,” he said.

“But what would help us enormously is a cut in VAT, which would be proportionate.”

Mr Bridgen says he had no choice but to sign up to a new energy contract, but fears it will leave the business working for nothing.

Meanwhile, Charles Smythe, who runs five city centre pubs in Canterbury, says he is bracing himself for sky-high energy costs this autumn.

“Businesses like ours use a lot of energy - you can’t get around it - but we are looking at everything we can to cut our consumption,” he said.

“It just seems that the hospitality industry is massively bearing the brunt of the increases, and will be the first to suffer when customers start to try and save money because of their own cost-of-living challenges.”

The boss of Shepherd Neame recently told KentOnline of the struggles the Faversham brewer and pub giant has faced in recruiting staff post-pandemic.

"It's never been this bad before - not in my experience," said Jonathan Neame.

"There have been periods when it's been difficult for certain roles, but I've never experienced a situation where there are more vacancies than people to fill them."