Covid-19

Our COVID-19 coverage captures the full impact of the pandemic on the UK’s foodservice and hospitality sector, from lockdown trading restrictions and government support schemes to recovery planning, operational adaptations, and long-term business implications. This includes essential reporting for restaurant operators, pub landlords, caterers, chefs, and F&B directors navigating one of the most disruptive periods in industry history.

Jan- 2021 -

4 January

Coronavirus

Brewdog and Loungers offer venues as vaccine centres

Brewdog and Loungers have offered their closed venues to the government to help with the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccinations. It comes after Brewdog CEO James Watt tweeted to health secretary Matt Hancock and Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon that the company wanted to “help with a quick roll…
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4 January

Coronavirus

Pandemic fuels 30,000 restaurant job losses

Almost 30,000 job losses were recorded by the UK’s restaurant and casual dining firms in 2020, according to data compiled by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR). The research also found that redundancies in the industry spiked 163% as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and related restrictions. The job…
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Dec- 2020 -

24 December

Trade Associations

UKH calls for extra relief amid Boxing Day restrictions

UKHospitality is calling on the government to provide immediate relief measures to save the hospitality sector, following the announcement that six million more people in the east and south east of England are to enter Tier 4 on Boxing Day. This comes after another Covid-19 variant from South Africa was…
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24 December

Coronavirus

Sandwell restaurateurs fined after Covid-19 breach

The owners of Nemrut Restaurant Ltd in Lightwoods Road, Sandwell have been fined £200 after they failed to ensure their restaurant complied with Covid-19 safety restrictions. According to local council reports, police in the area were forced to fine the pair after officers “discovered diners inside the restaurant”. This was…
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23 December

Coronavirus

£104.3m hospitality lifeline needs to be reviewed, says SLTA

The Scottish government needs to urgently review the financial compensation it is offering to the hospitality sector if employees are to be “here after spring 2021”, according to the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA). The statement comes in response to the new support measures the government offered this week after…
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22 December

Comment

Reflecting on 2020 as a restaurant owner

I am preparing for the new year with a sense of weariness and exhaustion. 2020 has, to say the least, had its moments of worry, pain, emotion, and tears for the country and certainly most of us in hospitality. ‘Unprecedented’ is now a hackneyed phrase and that perhaps that speaks…
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22 December

Government

Leicestershire County Council offers one-off payment to pubs

Leicestershire County Council has announced it is offering a one-off payment of £1,000 to support small village pubs which are unable to open due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. The council said the initiative has been designed to keep people in jobs, maintain the role of the pub as a community…
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22 December

Business

Maxwell’s Restaurant Limited calls in liquidators, 400 jobs lost

Maxwell’s Restaurant Limited has gone into liquidation resulting in 400 members of staff being left redundant. The restaurant group, which owned popular London venues such as Maxwell’s Bar and Grill, Cafe de Paris and Palm Court Brasserie said “reduced customer numbers” due to Covid-19 was one of the reasons for…
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21 December

Coronavirus

Hospitality curfews ‘ineffective’, according to new report

Hospitality curfews, which were brought in to curb Covid-19 transmissions, were largely ineffective, according to a new report published by Stampede. The hospitality software startup’s research, which analysed 2.4 million customer interactions across UK hospitality venues, revealed that customers went out safely before curfew, and the government’s ‘Eat Out to…
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21 December

News

Leon CVA receives creditor approval

Leon has announced its CVA proposal will go ahead after it received 90% approval from its creditors. The restaurant chain which was founded in 2004 and has gone on to operate 75 sites globally both owned and franchised with 44 based in the UK in prime locations and transport hubs,…
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