REOPEN FOR BUSINESS...

ENGLAND’S CLOSED BUSINESSES ARE GEARING UP FOR ANOTHER REOPENING BUT, ROSIE MURRAY-WEST ASKS, IS IT A CASE OF ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY?

MORE than eight months after their last triumphal reopening, and at least four months after many of them were forced to shut up shop again, England’s hospitality and retail businesses are planning to throw open their doors once again when the Covid roadmap allows it.

But while Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget offered them a carrot in the form of ‘restart grants’, some are concerned about the costs, mitigation measures and continued lack of clarity about what they will be able to do and when.

Russell Nathan, head of hospitality at accountancy firm HW Fisher, says that the package announced in the budget ‘doesn’t go far enough’.

He explains: ‘The majority of hospitality businesses have lost 60 per cent of their annual profit in the last six months and this £5 billion restart grant only accounts for around £1,600 per employee in the UK hospitality sector. Confidence is at rock bottom and this sector has been pushed to the back of the queue again when it comes to reopening.

‘Businesses cannot see beyond the next quarter and they are struggling to pay rents now, with another five months to go before revenue can start to bounce back.’

Silvia Rindone, retail partner at Ernst & Young, describes this as a ‘pivotal moment’ for retailers and hospitality. ‘The sector now has some of the clarity that it needs to be able to plan for recovery.

‘To achieve success, they must not only navigate through the roadmap out of lockdown, but make the bold, strategic decisions necessary to position for longer-term growth.’

Here, we speak to business owners about reopening, and discover their excitement is tempered by trepidation.