Kate Nicholls
This archive features our reporting on Kate Nicholls OBE — a key voice in the UK’s hospitality and foodservice policy landscape. As Chair of UKHospitality, Nicholls plays a central role in lobbying government, shaping regulation, and influencing the commercial environment in which restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés, and catering firms operate. Catering Today covers Nicholls’ statements, policy positions, and leadership activity because her work directly affects the trading conditions, labour challenges, and long-term resilience of foodservice businesses. For operators navigating rising costs, staffing pressures, or post-pandemic recovery, her advocacy and insights are both timely and consequential.
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Jan- 2021 -29 JanuaryBusiness
UKH warns quarantine rules could affect tourism long-term
UK Hospitality has responded to the new government hotel quarantine initiative by cautioning of the long-term impact on the UK’s relationship with international visitors. Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality reiterated that driving down cases and taking steps to eliminate new strains of the virus through enforcement of new and existing…
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28 JanuaryCoronavirus
Pandemic cost hospitality £200m a day in 2020
The pandemic and ensuing lockdowns cost the hospitality sector nearly £200m a day or £8m per hour in lost sales last year, with turnover less than half of 2019 levels, according to new data from UKHospitality and CGA. The latest edition of their quarterly tracker reveals that sales across restaurants,…
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26 JanuaryCoronavirus
Unemployment rises 5% to 1.7m
The UK unemployment rate rose by 5% in the three months to November with over 1.7 million people now out of work, according to the latest figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Since February 2020, the number of payroll employees has fallen by 828,000, however, the ONS said larger falls…
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22 JanuaryTrade Associations
‘Stark reminder’ for action amid 6,000 sector closures, UKH warns
UKHospitality (UKH) has called for action after figures published today (22 January) by CGA revealed a net decline of nearly 6,000 licensed premises in the UK. The trade association has issued a warning that businesses in the hospitality sector must receive further financial support in order to survive the third…
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20 JanuaryTrade Associations
UKH calls for business rates holiday and VAT cut extension
UKHospitality (UKH) has written to the chancellor calling for an additional support package to accelerate the sector’s revival in 2021. The trade organisation asked the government to consider enacting further business rates holiday for hospitality businesses and an extension of the VAT cut to 5% for a further 12 months,…
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11 JanuaryTrade Associations
New travel requirements are encouraging, says UKHospitality chief
UKHospitality has labelled the government’s new international travel requirements as “encouraging”, with arrivals into the UK now required to to present a negative Covid-19 test taken up to 72 hours prior to departure for entry. In a statement, UKHospitality chief Kate Nicholls said that the decision which was announced on…
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5 JanuaryCoronavirus
Chancellor unveils £4.6bn in new lockdown grants
Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000, the chancellor has announced. The news comes after the prime minister’s announcement that businesses will be closed until at least February half-term in order to help control the spread of Covid-19. This…
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5 JanuaryCoronavirus
UKH offers industry assistance for vaccine roll-out
UKHospitality has pledged to assist the government in the roll-out of vaccines, following the news that Covid-19 restrictions will be tightening further. Yesterday (4 January), Boris Johnson announced England will return to lockdown level restrictions until, at least, the middle of February. Similar restrictions are also now in place in…
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Dec- 2020 -24 DecemberTrade 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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18 DecemberCoronavirus
UKH: Tier 3 expansion will bring hospitality ‘further heartbreak’
UKHospitality has warned the recently announced expansion of Tier 3 will “bring further despair” to struggling businesses across the hospitality sector. It comes as UK government officials yesterday (17 December) announced that the majority of the South East and East of England would enter Tier 3 this weekend, as coronavirus…
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