Pub rents average £27,000 per year

The average annual pub rent for new leases in England and Wales stood at nearly £27,000 in the fourth quarter of 2012.

That's according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Benchmarking Survey.

RICS said that in the final three months of last year, data provided by three leading pub companies - Enterprise Inns, Punch Taverns and Marston's - showed that average new rents had fallen slightly to £26,920, down from £27,651 in the previous quarter.

Nationally, respondents in the East of England reported the highest rental values with the average pub lessee paying just over £33,500, followed closely by London (£32,730). Lessees in Wales reported the lowest values at almost £19,000.

The average projected lessee turnover over the next two years across England and Wales was expected to reach almost £300,000. As a result, rental costs as a percentage of turnover came in at 9%. On a regional level, lessees in the East of England had the highest average projected annual revenue, at almost £360,000 per year over the coming two years.

RICS said it was now working across the pub industry to produce its quarterly Pub Benchmarking Survey in response to the Government's Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee to help improve pub rental transparency.

Ben Elder, RICS global director of valuation, said: "Rents accounted for 9% of pubs' turnover at the end of last year and this remained fairly consistent throughout 2012. This stability is relatively encouraging, given the problems felt by the sector in recent years.

"The launch of our survey is a significant step forward in providing badly needed, transparent data to the pub industry. As the country's leading professional valuation body, our aim is to work in the public interest and provide expert, impartial advice to the industry on the impact of changes in the market."

Star Pubs (formerly Scottish and Newcastle) will also be contributing to future surveys.