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BEAN AND GONE

In under 12 years coffee shops will outnumber pubs as cafe openings rocket and pubs carry on closing

The UK has 22,845 cafes serving 2.3billion cups of the brew a year

COFFEE shops are opening at a rate of more than three a day - but pubs are closing just as fast.

The UK has 22,845 cafes serving 2.3billion cups of the brew a year.

On average 3.4 new ones open every day.

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 Coffee culture has taken off in the UK and forecasters suggest there will soon be more cafes than pubs
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Coffee culture has taken off in the UK and forecasters suggest there will soon be more cafes than pubsCredit: Getty Images

But pubs are shutting at a rate of 21 a week, or 3 a day, Campaign For Real Ale figures show.

There are still more than twice as many pubs — 50,800 serving 3.7billion pints a year — as coffee shops.

But if the rates of opening and closing continue, cafes will overtake pubs in less than 12 years.

 Pubs in the UK serve 3.7bn pints a year
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Pubs in the UK serve 3.7bn pints a yearCredit: Getty Images

The figures were released ahead of UK Coffee Week next month.

Event founder Jeffrey Young said: “The UK has embraced coffee culture in a phenomenal way.”

The spend on all drinks and food in cafes is £8.9billion, a 12 per cent jump in a year — and there are 150,000 baristas.