Coronavirus

Sep- 2020 -

14 September

700,000 jobs at risk as end of furlough scheme draws near

Over 700,000 employees are at risk of being made redundant in the second half of 2020, research from Institute for Employment Studies (IES) has revealed. IES estimates that some 650 thousand redundancies are expected in the second half of 2020, with 445 thousand redundancies in the three months between July…

14 September

A quarter of licensed premises yet to reopen

Nearly a quarter of licensed premises were yet to reopen at the end of August, according to the latest market recovery monitor from CGA and AlixPartners. Its latest data found that the London market was “particularly slow” to recover, while only 76.3% of sites have returned to trading since the…

11 September

New industry group warns Scottish gov to shut down rogue operators

A new body representing many of Scotland’s restaurant and bar owners has called on the Scottish Government to “immediately shut down” licensed premises which flout social distancing regulations. The newly-formed Scottish Hospitality Group (SHG) comprises many of the country’s largest and best-known restaurant and bar businesses, including The DRG Group,…

10 September

HospitalityUnite backs Kickstart initiative

HospitalityUnite, an initiative set up to help hospitality workers find alternative employment during lockdown, has teamed up with UKHospitality, Springboard, The Scottish Tourism Alliance and The Youth Group to back the Government’s Kickstart scheme. It will provide a free online service to make it easy for both hospitality businesses and…

9 September

‘Hospitality Titans’ programme to launch in September

A group of hospitality professionals have launched a new platform to help “struggling” industry owners in a post-Covid-19 climate. Entitled ‘Hospitality Titans’, the programme aims to set up key events so members can network with peers, investors and innovators as well as listen to guest speakers and receive important industry…

9 September

Menu prices see ‘modest’ rise post-lockdown

Operators have increased the price of menu items by 1.5% since lockdown ended, against the prior year, according to the latest piece of monthly analysis from Lumina Intelligence’s Menu Tracker. The average price of a same-line dish in spring/summer 2019 was £9.82. Since lockdown was lifted, however, the average price…

8 September

Bosporus to open new London venue

Bosporus, a turkish inspired restaurant is set to open in London’s Leicester Square this September. The restaurant, which was originally founded in Dubai in 2010 by GCS, also has six sites across Abu Dhabi and Egypt. The restaurant gets its name from the Strait, which runs through the centre of…

8 September

Up to £3.5bn furlough claims fraudulent, says HMRC

Up to £3.5bn in payments from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme may have been claimed fraudulently or paid in error, according to the HMRC. Jim Harra, HMRC’s permanent secretary, appeared before MPs on the Public Accounts Committee to discuss the tax authority’s estimates that 5-10% of furlough claims have been…

7 September

Deliveries to provide ‘long-lasting boost’ to sector post-lockdown

The positive impact of Covid-19 on the delivery market is set to “provide a long-lasting boost” to the sector once the pandemic ends, according to Lumina Intelligence. Its latest Foodservice Delivery Market Report Update found that prior to the pandemic, delivery accounted for one meal per consumer per month on…

7 September

GDP to contract £15.3bn each year if home working persists

Lower consumer spending and a decrease in economic clustering if pandemic levels of home working persist would reduce UK GDP by £15.3bn every year, according to new research published by PwC. The ‘Big Four’ accountancy firm said the hit to consumption is a result of office workers spending fewer days…