SIX MONTHS ON: THE STRUGGLES CONTINUE

TALKS TO BUSINESSES ABOUT HOW THEY’RE SURVIVING IN A PANDEMIC

SIX months after the original lockdown restrictions, many businesses are staring into a winter of hardship and uncertainty. Some sectors of the economy are unable to open fully, constrained by rules such as the 10pm curfew, the Rule of Six and specific guidelines limiting capacity in music and theatre venues.

With furlough coming to an end on October 31, and chancellor Rishi Sunak’s new winter plan giving a smaller amount of support to what he called ‘viable jobs’, businesses in some of the most affected sectors believe they will struggle to survive the winter.

Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, has called for specific grants for firms that have been forced to close and were ‘counting on reopening in the coming weeks’, saying that they now face ‘the most difficult of winters’.

Travel-industry experts are also worried. Rajeev Shaunak, Head of Travel and Tourism at MHA MacIntyre Hudson, says that Rishi’s plan does not ‘rise to the challenge faced by the travel sector. The travel industry continues to see much lower demand than expected. Until this changes the outbound market needs strong and sustained help and this has yet to be offered,’ he says.

Other heavily affected industries include the hospitality sector and venues offering live music.

Russell Nathan, hospitality expert at accountancy firm HW Fisher, says that the hospitality industry has been ‘patient and flexible throughout the pandemic. No doubt they will pivot successfully again to encourage earlier evening meals, but with distancing and the weather closing in, the outlook is simply not economically viable,’ he says.

With this in mind, we caught up with three businesses in the most affected sectors, which are struggling to prepare for the winter, to find out how things are going.