BUSINESSES FEEL THE STRAIN
Independent firms react to the cancellation of Hydro events and what it means next for one of Glasgow’s trendiest areas
THE Scottish Government’s plan to cancel all public gathering over of over 500 people is starting to become a stark realisation for small independent businesses in Glasgow’s trendy Finnieston area.
Dotted along the Argyle Street strip, pubs and bars are beginning to feel the impact of the cancellation of large events at the SSE Hydro, only just a 10-minute walk away.
With the cancellation of last night’s Country 2 Country show, along with other such as Carlos Santana and rock legends The Who, the businesses that rely on these events for footfall are expecting the worse.
Paul Bright, owner of Strip Joint on Argyle Street, said: “We are lucky to be near The Hydro but pay handsomely for the privilege with high rent and rates.
“Without the income from the Hydro, we are left with the same high outgoings with none of the incoming business.
“The next few weeks extremely uncertain and
I’m sure all the businesses in the area are starting to feel the pressure.”
The impact is already being felt by businesses, with The Gannet’s restaurant manager, Kevin Dow, revealing that up to 30 cancellations had taken place in one nigh at the popular restaurant.
He said: “It’s definitely affecting business, we know that for a fact. Country 2 Country was cancelled last night and last night I had 30 covers cancelled to for this weekend.
“I’ve come in this weekend to cancellations for future dates as well. People are getting worried about it.
“It will absolutely hit the business long term, its going to be a big hit. People are really uncertain are and that’s the biggest problem.” Uncertainty is what every business will be feeling, as the same sentiment is echoed by The Brass Monkey’s director, Andrew McCulloch, who said: “They’ve told us that these public gatherings will be cancelled, which is obviously for public health, but they’ve not told us for how long, so it’s hard to plan for what happens next. “Uncertainty does more damage to us – we expect this situation to get worse before it gets better and there is the possibility that places like us could go out of business as a result of it.” The Finnieston area has seen a resurgence in the past decade, with the SSE Hydro bringing thousands of music, comedy and arts fans to the Argyle Street for dinner and a drink before the show.
Andrew added: “The Hydro is the reason rent rates are so high, it’s the reason why we pay the price we do, because it’s a popular area and we know we’ll get the footfall.
“We always get dip here and there, or even the weather in February put people off, but we’ve had no support with this at all really.
We’ve been provided little help from the government and it feels like we’re forgotten about.”
This is something that Paul agrees with Andrew on, echoing the concerns of the lack of support for small businesses when issue like this arise:
“Bookings are down and we may soon face forced closure like we have seen in Italy and Belgium, yet we are in the dark as to what that will mean for us when it comes to paying business rates, VAT, PAYE and rent.”
The cancellation of sporting events such as this weekend’s Old Firm game will also have an impact on the hospitality sector,
Andrew at The Brass Monkey said: “People don’t come to the pub just for a chat anymore, some do, but most people come when there’s something happening like a music gig or a football match.
“Cancelling these events will harm us but it’s times like these that local businesses need the community more than ever.”
SSE Hydro confirmed that cancellation of shows would be looked at on an individual basis, stating: “Following the latest instruction from the Scottish Government, we continue to work closely with the organisers of upcoming events across the campus.
“We are hopeful that the majority of events affected will be able to reschedule to a future date.”