Pubs hit hard by pandemic
Many owners are not confident their business will survive past Christmas
MORE than one in four pub and bar owners in the UK do not have confidence their businesses will continue to survive the coronavirus pandemic.
A recent survey by the Office for National Statistics found that 27.9% of pub and bar owners have no or low confidence that their business will survive the next three months.
Meanwhile, 14.0% of pub and bar owners surveyed said their cash reserves would only last them less than a month, and 9.6% said they had no reserves at all.
The confidence and cash flow
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levels of other businesses are a lot more positive in comparison, suggesting that the hospitality sector has been hit harder by the pandemic than other industries.
Only 5.2% of other businesses had no or low confidence that they would survive, compared to the 27.9% of pubs and bars.
The majority of other business owners have high confidence levels that they will survive the next three months at 60.2%, a stark contrast to the 19.1% of pub and bar owners.
More than half of other business owners also said they have cash reserves that would cover more than three months.
Only 3.7% said their cash reserves would last less than a month, and 4.9% said they had no reserves at all.
The pandemic has undoubtedly had a big impact on the hospitality sector, with two nation-wide lockdowns and parts of the UK now enforcing tier 3 and 4 restrictions, meaning pubs and bars have had to remain closed.
In areas where pubs have been able to stay open, they have had to operate at limited capacities due to social distancing measures.
In response to the new tier system that will be enforced over Christmas, Campaign for Real Ale’s Chief Executive Tom Stainer said: “Pubs and breweries across England had been hoping for some good news that would allow them to get some much-needed money through the tills at what would be their busiest time of year.
“The announcement that the vast majority of the country will stay in Tier 2 or 3, with large parts of the East and South East joining London going into Tier 3, is another devastating blow for the beer and pubs industry when they had hoped there was light at the end of the tunnel.
“With even more pubs forced to shut for Christmas, now more than ever, we need a new, long-term, sector-specific financial support plan to make sure that otherwiseviable pubs, clubs and breweries up and down the country can survive into the new year without having to close down for good.”
The government announced that there is a £1,000 Christmas grant for pubs in tiers 2, 3 and 4 who will miss out on business during the Christmas period, and businesses can apply for up to £3,000 of additional support.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “While we can’t make up for all the trade they will lose over Christmas, I hope this new £1,000 grant – on top of the furlough, VAT and business rates relief and existing grants, goes some way to help them weather the economic storm.”
However, for CAMRA, this may not be enough to prevent closures.
INSPIRED by true events, One Night In Miami is a thoughtful and beautifully crafted drama which unites four cultural trailblazers – Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke and Malcolm X – as racial divides deepen in 1964 America.
Oscar-winning actor Regina King’s directorial debut is an elegantly choreographed verbal boxing match, which trades barbs between the men as they debate their responsibility to use their platforms to push for social change.
Tempers occasionally fray in pursuit of progress. “You’re a monkey dancing for an organ grinder,” Malcolm X tells Brown as he prepares to move from the American football field to Hollywood.
Kemp Powers’ assured adaptation of his 2013 stage play expands beyond the four walls of a motel room to give a vibrant sense of the activism of the era. It’s a pivotal moment when frustration and indignation are tempered with hope and solidarity. The future seems bright, although history would cut short some of their stories.
In December 1964, Cooke was shot dead in Los Angeles and three months later, Malcolm X was assassinated. King’s film opens in 1963 at Wembley Stadium with cocksure challenger Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) defeating Henry Cooper to set up a world title bout against Sonny Lister (Aaron D Alexander). Across the Atlantic at New York City’s revered Copacabana nightclub, the welcome is chilly for singer Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr) when he performs Tammy.
“I like the song so much more when Debbie Reynold sang it,” jibes one woman in the all-white audience. American football player Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) seeks advice from an old friend (Beau Bridges) and is reminded of the casual racism woven into society.
Elsewhere, Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir) and pregnant wife Betty ( Joaquina Kalukango) contemplate a plan to distance themselves from his spiritual mentor, Elijah Muhammad.
On February 26, 1964, the four men congregate in Room 245 of the Hampton House after Clay Motel has & defeated Villas in Lister. Florida shortly
Two bodyguards, Kareem (Lance Reddick) and Jamaal (Christian Magby), stand guard while Clay pokes fun at his defeated opponent – “I told you he’s ugly, you should see him up close!” – and prepares to confirm his allegiance to the Nation of Islam, changing his name to Muhammad Ali. One Night in Miami floats like a butterfly and occasionally stings like a bee, adopting a languid pace to allow the four actors to savour Kemp’s dialogue as they wrestle with a place in history. Goree’s exuberant Ali contrasts with Ben-Adir’s solemn, embodiment of Malcolm X, weighed down by the knowledge that time is slipping through their fingers. By the time Tony Award-winning Hamilton star Odom Jr performs Cooke’s heart-rending call to arms, A Change Is Gonna Come, the die has been cast.
Released December 26 (selected cinemas) then streaming from January 15 on Amazon Prime Video