Three-quarters of eateries face crisis
ALMOST three quarters of UK pubs and restaurants expect to shut permanently next year following damaging coronavirus restrictions, an industry poll indicated last Thursday (19).
The British Beer and Pub Association, the British Institute of Innkeeping and UK Hospitality said in a statement that 72 per cent of surveyed businesses “expect to become unviable and close in 2021”.
The survey, conducted by market research company CGA, also showed that pubs and other hospitality businesses want the UK government to provide more support.
CGA polled 446 businesses representing more than 20,000 venues nationwide during November.
“The evidence is here to see of the devastating, long-term impact the government’s restrictions are having on hospitality and pub businesses,” the three trade organisations said in a statement. “Without a change in approach and more support from government, much of our sector could be gone within a year – that means businesses and jobs lost plus muchloved venues closed forever.”
A separate survey meanwhile suggested last Thursday that one in three UK restaurants fear they may not survive the next three months
following the latest Covid-19 restrictions. The Office for National Statistics said its survey found that 34 per cent of businesses in the accommodation and food services sector have “little or no confidence” they will last beyond the end of January 2021.
The ONS, which carried out its survey in the first two weeks of November, added that 14 per cent of all businesses also feared for their survival.
The statistics agency added that just 63 per cent of companies in the accommodation and food sectors are currently trading.
English pubs temporarily closed their doors in early November as
the country effectively shut down for the second time this year to try to curb spiking infection rates.
The lockdown has also shuttered restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops and services until December 2, with hopes business could resume in time for Christmas.
To help cushion the blow, the government has rolled out a new multi-billion-pound support package by extending its furlough jobs scheme paying the bulk of workers’ wages until the end of March.
Britain has been the worst-hit nation in Europe from Covid, recording 55,838 deaths from some 1.54 million positive cases, as Eastern
went to press on Tuesday (24).