Coronavirus

Jan- 2021 -

21 January

Chancellor considers further furlough extension in March budget

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering another extension to the government’s Job retention Scheme (JRS) as it continues to try and mitigate the impact of covid-19 on the UK economy. According to Bloomberg, Sunak is considering a fifth extension to the furlough scheme that will cover roughly 5 million workers…

21 January

Dining Street Limited calls in administrators

Dining Street Limited has fallen into administration resulting in 147 staff redundancies. The restaurant group, which operated under brands such as Richoux, Zintino, Friendly Phil’s, and The Broadwick, has cited “ongoing uncertainty” surrounding Covid-19 as the reason for its collapse. All of the company’s restaurants have been operating under limited…

19 January

Food trends accelerated by Covid-19 could cause ‘fundamental shift’

The effects of Covid-19 have caused an “acceleration in foodservice trends which are set to continue long after the pandemic”, according to a new report. ‘Foodservice Trends 2021 and Beyond’ points to some of the “new and innovative” ways in which operators have reached their customer base, and examines how…

18 January

Sacha Lord calls for hospitality to reopen alongside non-essential retail

Sacha Lord, Greater Manchester’s night time economy advisor, has claimed that hospitality “must reopen” alongside non-essential retail as part of a return to the Covid-19 tiered system. The comment came in response to Dominc Raab’s confirmation on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show that a phased transition out of national…

18 January

Nottinghamshire pub fined for Covid breach

A Nottinghamshire pub has been fined after police found four individuals sat around a table drinking and watching television with a member of staff. Local police said they visited The Plough Inn on 13 January in Cropwell Butler where they found the pub open and to be serving alcohol. Officers…

15 January

Hospitality job losses hit 660,000 in a year

The hospitality workforce has shrunk by more than a quarter against last year, with 660,000 sector job losses reported over the course of the past year, new statistics reveal. The “devastating impact” of the pandemic was highlighted through new research published by Fourth, a software provider for the hospitality sector.…

15 January

Over 800 chain restaurants closed indefinitely due to Covid

Over 800 chain restaurants, cafes and pubs have closed indefinitely due to Covid-19, according to research carried out by the Evening Standard. The pandemic has greatly affected the wider hospitality sector, with operators having to regularly close over long periods of time due to tougher lockdown restrictions and social distancing…

15 January

Supreme Court sides with small firms in business interruption insurance case

The Supreme Court has delivered its judgment in the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA)’s business interruption insurance test case, with the court’s ruling in the favour of small firms potentially forcing insurers to pay out £1.2bn in CBI claims. Following the judgement, thousands of policyholders will now have their claims for…

15 January

UK GDP shrinks by 2.6%

GDP declined by 2.6% in November 2020 as government restrictions reduced economic activity, the latest ONS figures reveal. Figures released by the statistics office show that November GDP was 8.5% below its pre-pandemic levels. The decline follows a period of economic growth for the UK, with last October’s report revealing that the country had grown a…

15 January

Pub and restaurant sales fall 72% over holiday season

Sales from pub and restaurant groups have plummeted 72.6% over Christmas, according to the Coffer Peach Business Tracker. The tracker is produced by business insight consultancy firm CGA, in partnership with the Coffer Group and RSM. Trading for the five weeks from 30 November to 3 January revealed that drink-led…