Expert Insight
NEWS from
Kate Nicholls UKHospitality Chief Executive
The past twelve months have provided us with a relentless stream of almost wholly negative news. With some luck and a huge amount of hard work and perseverance, we appear to have turned a
corner. In 2021, we can hopefully look forward to much more positive news as the vaccine roll-out continues apace and venues begin to open their doors to customers once again.
Next month’s Budget presents the Government with an opportunity to provide the first dose of
really positive news for hospitality. It offers a chance to unleash upon struggling businesses a wave a bold and wide-ranging support to see them through the remaining months of the crisis and tee them up to spearhead the country’s economic recovery in the years to come.
The two principal things we need are extensions to the VAT cut and the business rates holiday. Both measures have been instrumental in freeing up valuable cash for businesses to survive the turmoil of the past year.
Confirming an extension of these for 2021/22 would provide some stability for under-pressure businesses and enable them to plan with a degree of confidence. It would provide a platform upon which to build and should be seen as a starting point for further financial support to keep businesses afloat and as many jobs as possible open.
Unleashing a wave of support costs money in the short term, but the rewards are there to be reaped in the years ahead. It cannot come too soon, either. Recent UKH stats show that, in 2020, sales in the hospitality sector collapsed 54%, resulting in a loss in revenue of £72bn. The sector’s decline is likely to have knocked off over 2 percentage points from total national GDP. To put that into truly alarming perspective, it is more than 10 times worse than the impact of the 2008 financial crisis for hospitality.
Everyone in our sector understands that hospitality is battling for survival.
Our sector has been the hardest hit sector by the pandemic and is staring into the abyss. But if the right conditions and support are put in place, we could be justifiably optimistic for the year ahead. We can be an engine of growth, revitalising local economies across the country and providing much needed investment and jobs.
It begins with the Budget and the announcement of the support we need. We have spent twelve months struggling against a tide of bad news, it’s time to hear some good for a change.
6
February 2021
www.venue-insight.com
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