Business

One in six (16%) hospitality jobs currently lie vacant, with businesses struggling to fill the job gaps across the sector, according to the latest Business Confidence Survey from CGA and Fourth. The poll highlighted the industry’s “mounting” labour crisis, with 96% of business leaders now envisaging shortages in either front…

The hospitality and leisure industry is predicted to contribute £3.5bn more to the nation’s GDP this year than in 2019, according to Barclays Corporate Banking. In its new report, Leisure Rediscovered, Barclays’ data shows that the vast majority of hospitality and leisure businesses (94%) are confident about their growth prospects…

Red Hotels has announced that two of its sites, The Scarlet and the Bedruthan Hotel and Spa, will increase the pay rates for all entry level roles to £11 per hour. The independent hotels said that their “pioneering commitment” to employees and the environment has “always been at the core…

Some 99% of businesses are currently experiencing supply chain issues, with more than four in five seeing higher costs in their supply chain (82%), according to the latest Business Confidence Survey from CGA. The survey showed that more than four in five businesses have already seen deliveries of products delayed…

Mitchells and Butlers has reported that like-for-like sales have recovered to 97% of pre-Covid levels in the 18 weeks since the indoor reopening of hospitality on 17 May. In a trading update for the 51 weeks ended 18 September 2021, the group attributed this recovery to a 4% rise in…

Some seven in 10 (70%) restaurant, pub and bar leaders have expressed their optimism about their businesses’ prospects for the next 12 months, according to the latest Business Confidence Survey from CGA. The survey showed that nearly three in five (58%) leaders felt optimistic about prospects for the general market…

UK economic growth slowed down in July, growing by 0.1% compared with 1% in June 2021, according to the latest data by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). With the spread of the Delta variant and the “pingdemic” taking its hold in July, gross domestic product (GDP) still remains 2.1%…

Gordon Ramsay Restaurants has announced that the group swung to a £5.1m loss before tax in FY20, down from £15.2m profits the previous year. Consolidated turnover at the company also fell 36.9% year-on-year to £34.5m for the year ended 31 August 2020. The celebrity chef’s restaurant group attributed the decline…

Consumer card spending rose 15.4% in August, compared with the same period in 2019, with growth recorded across all sectors apart from international travel, according to new data from Barclaycard. For the hospitality and leisure sector, restaurant spending broke into positive growth for the first time since the pandemic hit…

Labour supply problems could last for up to two years and will not be solved by the end of the Job Retention Scheme, the CBI’s director-general, Toby Danker has warned. The warning comes as the CBI’s director-general has set out priorities for both business and government to guard against labour…