Boris Johnson has confirmed that the Chancellor of The Exchequer is considering rolling out lower tax rates on alcohol duty for pubs and restaurants, rather than for supermarkets, as Rishi Sunak prepares to unveil his budget tomorrow (3rd March).

Many Tory MP’s have backed this plan, urging the government to treat pubs and restaurants much differently than large retailers to stop them being “undercut by cheap supermarket booze”. MP Giles Watling stated, “This terrible pandemic has made things even worse but part of the problem is undercutting by cheap supermarket booze”. As the UK is now out of the EU the government should be able to do as they please on beer duty meaning cheaper prices for businesses and for the consumer.

After Boris Johnsons announcement of a pathway to reopening of hospitality last week, many were calling for more additional support to allow these business to survive rather than just be told they can open again and fend for themselves.

The Daily Mail reports that Rishi Sunak is set to announce further VAT and business rate cuts for the hospitality sector, continue the stamp duty holiday for house buyers and to also extend the job furlough scheme. It is also reported that Treasury officials are looking into even more dramatic pains for major stimulus to the economy later this year. There could be another return of last summers ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme.

So, all in all, existing support packages which include the VAT cut from 20% down to 5%, an extension to business rates holidays and a further extension to the £50billion furlough scheme (all confirmed by ‘cabinet sources’) the government is finally looking at ways to protect the hospitality sector and ensure its’ survival. It is apparent that there is broad agreement that these support packages need to go hand in hand with the lockdown exit roadmap.

Many hospitality businesses are however on their knees, with lengthy lockdown closures resulting in little to no income, meaning that cashflow has suffered dramatically and many are simply struggling to keep their heads above water.

Hospitality Rescue has been helping struggling business owners for over 20 years with sensible FREE advice. If your hospitality business is experiencing problems, contact us FREE on 0800 9700539. Chat to one of our experienced advisers and we will see how we can help you!

With nightclubs closed for almost a year now and the younger generation reminiscing over past club nights out, there may finally be a solution for this long-awaited industry to open up again. Boris Johnson has stated that quick coronavirus testing could enable nightclubs and theatres to reopen to the public again.

The PM said, “rapid lateral flow tests could be used by those parts of the economy we couldn’t get open last year”. Combined with the vaccination roll-out, this could well be the route forward for the sector. However, he stressed that it was still early days, with many more discussions still to be had.

Although this isn’t a definite yet this new statement brings some optimism to one of the hardest hit industry’s since coronavirus started. With the ease of lockdown being “cautious but irreversible” this gives some positivity to these businesses knowing there won’t be any going back after current restrictions are slowly lifted.

However, undergoing Covid lateral testing to gain entry to a nightclub may not be as simple as it seems. Michael Kill, boss of the Night Time Industry Association, said “administrating rapid tests would not be straightforward, even if it could mean venues such as night clubs were allowed to reopen”. He said that professionals would be required to administer these swab tests outside a venue, where clubbers would have to wait at least 15 minutes to see if they got a negative result before being allowed into the club. This therefore will lead to a stagger in admissions and would need certain procedures to deal with any positive cases and who those ‘positive result’ individuals may have been in contact with.

Sadly, the long wait continues for the night time industry and many businesses continue to suffer from lack of revenue and subsequently the means to pay its fixed costs.

Hospitality Rescue has been helping struggling business owners for over 20 years with sensible FREE advice. If your hospitality business is experiencing problems, contact us FREE on 0800 9700539. Chat to one of our experienced advisers and we will see how we can help you!

Written by Luke Harris

New figures have been released showing the extent to which the hospitality sector plays an important part in the UK’s economy. Statistics published by the ONS (Office of National Statistics) shows that the UK economy shrank by 9.9% in 2020 with the output of the accommodation and food services sector now down 51.8% on the previous year.

In addition, analysis from hospitality data analysts CGA, showed a 54% drop in sales across hospitality in 2020, which is the equivalent to a drop of nearly £72bn, making the hospitality sector responsible for one-third of the UK economy’s annual £215bn contraction. This demonstrates how important it is to get the hospitality industry back open again as quickly as possible and pumping money into the British economy. However, after the PM’s latest announcements on the roadmap for recovery, it is now clear the earliest signs of this industry being able reopen will be mid-April/late May, which may be too late for many hospitality businesses.

UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said “these figures make for bleak reading, but also serve to drive home the point about the importance of hospitality as an economic force. When hospitality struggles, the entire UK economy struggles”. She has emphasised continuously, time and time again, the importance the food and drink industry has on the UK economy.

Hospitality Rescue has been helping struggling business owners for over 20 years with sensible FREE advice. If your hospitality business is experiencing problems, contact us FREE on 0800 9700539. Chat to one of our experienced advisers and we will see how we can help you!

With many of us questioning when pubs and restaurants will be opening again, there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel. The government has released a new roadmap for recovery introducing step by step details on what will open and when bringing optimism for the people of the UK.

The Daily Mail states that a ‘blueprint’ is being discussed by ministers and industry leaders that would allow the current restrictions to be gradually eased at four-weekly intervals however, some believe that this four-week interval could be cut down to three weeks, as this is the time it takes for the data to demonstrate the effect of the loosening lockdown measures.

The Mail says that pubs, bars and restaurants will have to wait until early May before they can open their doors again to the public although, rules will be put in place to ensure the safety of the customers. Plans to have a maximum of two households being allowed to sit together indoors have emerged (an increase from the previous one family/household rule prior to the lockdown) and plans suggest a continuation of the ‘Rule of Six’ outside. Is this the future of pubs and restaurants? Hopefully not, with the next stage of the blueprint rolling out in early June we can hopefully see an easing of the ‘Rule of Six’ maybe indoors. The sector is desperate to get confirmation of these proposals so it can plan for a vital busy summer trading period.

Although this is a positive step for many businesses, can they really afford to wait another 8-10 weeks to open? Many owners of pubs are calling for an earlier reopening launch after businesses warned that they would go under unless they were given the green light to get going from the Easter weekend.

The Hospitality Rescue team has been helping owners save their businesses for 20 years with sensible free advice and a range of survival strategies. So, don’t hesitate to contact us now if you’re hospitality business is facing problems. Give us a free call on 0800 9700539 to chat to one of our advisors.

Written by Luke Harris

Late last year the hospitality industry was targeted as being responsible for an increase in COVID-19 cases. However, a new report argues that businesses in this sector should be prioritised for reopening, as research shows that they are NOT a significant area for COVID transmissions. A study, commissioned by trade body UKHospitality, from analysts CGA, asserts that hospitality should be central to early reopening plans in 2021 as it continues to be “a safe and well-regulated environment for customers to visit”.

After constant arguments over the July 2020 reopening of hospitality, the ‘Eat Out To Help’ out scheme and the so called correlation of a rapid rise in cases in autumn 2020, reports from public health directors and Public Health England’s weekly surveillance reports, both conclude that hospitality was linked to a low number of cases and is not a leading environment of transmissions that was previously thought. In fact, data suggests that, the rapid rise in cases from early to mid-September was mostly likely driven by the forced reopening of schools.

With data covering the period from 9th July to 19th September 2020, the busiest period for hospitality by far since the pandemic began, shows an average of only 5.2% of infection could be linked to “food and drink“ industry settings, therefore pubs and restaurants should not be held back from reopening. The report urges that consideration of the current reopening roadmap that is understood to prioritise the reopening of non-essential retail before hospitality should be reviewed.

So it’s clear, the hospitality sector is in fact not as much at fault for the increase in cases but actually safer than critics felt.  The report says that far more needs to be done to save this industry which has left many businesses barely surviving and the sector most definitely cannot afford another year with restrictions on the scale of 2020.

The Hospitality Rescue team has been helping business owners for 20 years with sensible free advice. If you are in the hospitality sector and are, like so many others, suffering financially, don’t hesitate to contact us now.  Give us a free call on 0800 9700539 to discuss how we can help.

Written by Luke Harris