The British Beer & Pub Association, UKHospitality, and the British Institute of Innkeeping have unveiled new findings today showing that almost a quarter (23%) of their members think their businesses will fail by the end of the year without further government support.
The findings, from a survey of members of all three trade associations conducted by hospitality market research company CGA, revealed the high level of concern about the future of the pub and wider hospitality sector without further support from government.
This was before the latest restrictions for pubs, restaurants, and the wider hospitality sector were announced by the prime minister earlier this week, including a 10pm curfew and table service only, which will only make the situation worse.
The survey also found that one in eight hospitality staff have already been made redundant, and that more sector jobs are expected to be permanently lost when the government’s furlough scheme comes to an end in October.
On average, businesses believe their workforce will be 25% lower by February 2021 compared to February this year — a decline of 675,000 jobs lost from the sector in a year.
Only 7% of respondents said they were feeling optimistic about the prospects of the hospitality sector over the next 12 months, down from 23% in August and 19% in July, when respondents were previously asked the same question.
With such a gloomy outlook for the sector, exacerbated by the prime minister’s announcement earlier this week on further restrictions, the trade bodies have all called on the government to take drastic action.
They have urged it to immediately put in place a new sector-specific employment support package, and to extend the VAT cut and business rates holiday for the sector.
These measures, they say, will help pubs and hospitality businesses survive any further disruptions to their operations, enabling them to work towards a safe and sustainable recovery heading into 2021 and beyond.
