Coronavirus

Covid-19 tiered restrictions under government review

Robert Jenrick, the UK housing secretary, has announced the pre-lockdown three-tier lockdown system is under government review. A return to an updated tiered system when the second lockdown ends in England on 2 December looks likely, as the government aims for “greater consistency” this time around. Speaking on BBC Breakfast,…

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Mitchells & Butlers to close 20 sites

Mitchells and Butlers, the restaurant, pub, and bar operator, has announced it will not reopen 20 of its sites. According to the Telegraph, the owner of All Bar One and Harvester is working to offload some of its leasehold properties that will face permanent closure if buyers cannot be found.…

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Greggs to make 800 job cuts

Greggs has announced plans to cut over 800 jobs from its UK sites, as a result of trading difficulties due to Covid-19.  This month, chief executive Roger Whiteside issued a statement on the company employee information site revealing that recent weeks have been “particularly difficult” for the chain and the…

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Restrictions drive October pub and restaurant sales into reverse

The roll-out of more regional Covid restrictions further depressed sales in Britain’s managed pub, restaurant and bar groups in October, according to the latest data from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker. The tracker, which is produced by CGA in partnership with RSM and The Coffer Group, found that 83% of…

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Caffe Nero launches CVA proposal

Caffe Nero has launched a CVA proposal, in which it will ask landlords to cut costs as the ongoing impact of Coronavirus take its toll on the coffee chain. The company which employs 6000 people said it was undertaking the proposal to “better manage” its fixed costs moving forward in…

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Hospitality figures pen letter calling for EIS amendment

Hospitality figures backed by the UK hospitality trade bodies have written an open letter to Rishi Sunak calling for an amendment to the current EIS and SEIS to “boost private investment in the sector and provide an alternative to government loans”. The proposals from Alan Lorrimer, founder of The Piano…

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Government urged to reevaluate lockdown restrictions

Sacha Lord, the night time economy advisor for Greater Manchester, has urged parliament to reassess its latest lockdown measures. In a letter to the government legal department, Lord picked upon the “insufficient level of detail” provided by the study used to back up lockdown measures. He also called upon three…

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JD Wetherspoon reports 27.6% sale decrease

JD Wetherspoon chairman, Tim Martin has labelled the government’s latest hospitality restrictions “baffling and confusing”, as the company reports a like-for-like sales decrease of  27.6%.  For the 15 weeks to 8 November 2020 the pub chain reported that sales in October were “significantly lower” than previous months, following the imposition…

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Employment stats ‘reinforce need for targeted support’, says UKH

The release of ONS employment figures “highlights the scale of the crisis” currently being faced by hospitality businesses and emphasises the need for additional support for the sector, according to UKHospitality. The figures showed that a record 314,000 people lost their job in the three months to September as the…

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Roux’s Waterside Inn to remain closed until 2021

The three Michelin star Waterside Inn restaurant in Bray will remain closed until 8 January 2021, as owner chef Alain Roux deems its re-opening “financially unfeasible”.  Following the government’s latest ruling, the Waterside Inn closed on 5 November 2020, however the chef announced on Instagram he would extend this break…

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