Price increases at Imperial College Union bars

The changes come following increases in costs across all areas of operations.

At Imperial College Union, we pride ourselves on being an affordable, welcoming third space in a location where similar venues are scarce. Unlike other venues, Imperial College Union is a charity, meaning profits don't go to investors or shareholders. Every purchase within our bars is reinvested to improve your student experience at Imperial and support our student staff.

Like many organisations, we’ve seen significant increases in operating costs across all areas of our organisation. As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the price of a number of drinks across our bars.

We understand this may be disappointing, and it’s not a decision we’ve taken lightly. Our priority has always been to keep our venues as affordable as possible while ensuring we can continue delivering the services and spaces that matter to you.

Following the price increase, a drink within our value range will now cost £3.85. We believe this price is still very competitive and has been benchmarked against other London SU's.

To highlight the tight margins within our bars, here's a breakdown of the costs for a £3.85 pint of Carling:

Cost of the product: £1.13 (29%)
Staffing: £0.89 (23%)
VAT: £0.64 (20%)
Additional costs of running a venue, such as security, maintenance, cleaning etc: £0.80 (21%)
Profits reinvested into the union: £0.29 per pint (7%)

These margins are intentionally kept low to help us maintain affordable social spaces for students. However, to continue supporting the Imperial community and delivering the opportunities and services that enhance your uni experience, we also need to ensure the long-term sustainability of the union.

If you have any questions about the changes or for more insight into the running of our commercial operations, please join us at our next Commercial Advisory Group Meeting on Monday, 6 July.