UK pubs and restaurants demand support amid ‘decimated’ bookings
Pubs and restaurants have warned of plummeting sales and “decimated” bookings, as pressure increases on the government to offer urgent financial support to struggling hospitality businesses.
The weekend just passed should have been the busiest trading period of the Christmas season, but customers chose to stay away, said Nick Mackenzie, the chief executive of the pub and brewery chain Greene King, which runs 2,700 pubs, restaurants and hotels across the UK.
“Demand has dropped, bookings have been decimated, some parts of the country we are 70%, 80% down on 2019, so the situation is pretty unsustainable,” Mackenzie told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday.
Warnings from the government had led to “lockdown in all but name”, Mackenzie said, and he urged the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to deliver “quick and effective support”.
He said hospitality businesses that were severely affected or had had to close needed a range of support measures including furlough, and he also called for business rates relief, regardless of the size of the firm.
“Longer term we need VAT to be reduced back down to 5% to give us the cashflow to survive into next year. For many businesses, Christmas is about getting cashflow ready to help them survive in January,” he said.
The health secretary, Sajid Javid, on Sunday refused to rule out tighter Covid restrictions before Christmas.
Some hospitality firms, including the pub chain JD Wetherspoon, have accused the government of already implementing a “lockdown by stealth” after issuing guidance for people to reduce their social contact.
“The chancellor better get his act together or it’s going to be a really horrible Christmas for our sector,” said David Page, the chairman of Fulham Shore, the London-listed owner of the pizza chain Franco Manca and the Real Greek restaurants.
Sales at Fulham Shore’s 20 city centre restaurants fell last week, Page told BBC Radio 4, although he added that sales had risen at sites in commuter areas and on England’s south coast.
“Everybody is in pain at the moment,” Page said. “We have switched to takeaway only in some branches because of Covid and our staff self-isolating.”
He added: “Cashflow is the problem at the moment,” and he echoed calls for Sunak to give help to hospitality firms. “Especially nearer London and nearer city centres, these businesses have no cashflow. They are paying staff, they’ve got to pay their suppliers. It’s been a bit of a disaster area for smaller businesses over the last two weeks and Rishi needs to do something in the next 24 hours.”