Restaurants

Almost 1,000 hospitality venues have closed since July, report finds

The latest figures are according to the new market recovery monitor from CGA and Alix Partners, with independent venues and nightclubs hit hardest

Britain’s number of licensed premises fell by 980 between July, when the market fully reopened, and September 2021, according to the new market recovery monitor from CGA and Alix Partners.

The monitor indicates that small businesses have borne the brunt of closures, with independently run pubs, restaurants, bars and other licensed premises accounting for nearly three quarters of all closures between July and September, reducing the indie sector in size by 1%.

In contrast, the managed sector proved robust over the summer, achieving growth in site numbers of 0.1%.

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The latest report also highlights the struggles of nightclubs over the Covid crisis. Despite being able to trade from July, Britain’s number of nightclubs dipped by nearly 100 to just over 1,000 by September—a drop of 9.0% in just two months.

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Karl Chessell, CGA’s business unit director for hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “These numbers are a reminder—if it were needed—that the crisis in hospitality is far from over. Restrictions on socialising and trading may have eased, but their impacts continue to be felt by restaurants, pubs and bars whose reserves have been eaten up by months of closure.

“Factor in a crisis in recruitment, rising costs in many key areas and widespread supply issues, and it is clear that thousands of firms and jobs remain vulnerable. Targeted government support on these major challenges—starting with more VAT relief—is needed to help to prevent hospitality’s recovery from stalling.”

Graeme Smith, AlixPartners’ managing director, said: “These figures are a stark reminder, if needed, that the full lifting of restrictions in July did not signal an end to the challenges faced by hospitality businesses. The impact on nightclubs, which were unable to trade at all during the pandemic, has been particularly acute with almost one in 10 sites closing in the past two months.

“Demand remains strong but with staff shortages, utility cost inflation and supply-chain disruption, there are renewed efforts to secure continued government support to the industry to help it weather this storm as the reopening and rehabilitation process continues through what may be a challenging winter.”

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