Expert Insight
NEWS from
Kate Nicholls UKHospitality Chief Executive
The last few weeks has seen hospitality welcoming back guests to venues and it’s been fantastic to see customers back in beer gardens and enjoying al-fresco eating and drinking, despite the somewhat inclement weather at times! What must be remembered though is that for each venue able to open from last month, there were three that
remained shut. And in spite of the pent-up demand, those that did welcome customers back will have struggled to turn a profit.
With indoor reopening we’ve reached another important milestone. More venues can open their doors, albeit with restrictions on capacity, and the sector is springing back to life and playing its part in kickstarting the economic recovery and rejuvenate our high-streets. It’s absolutely critical that the Government sticks to the roadmap now, which includes the removal of all restrictions by 21st June. This is a landmark that can’t be missed. It will allow the sector to finally plan ahead with certainty, see revenue levels rise and profitability return.
Alongside this, the major issue that needs addressing is rent debt, currently a £2.5bn millstone around the neck of the industry. We have been highlighting for a year now that this debt is an existential threat to the future of the sector, and jobs within it. To date the Government’s strategy – introducing and repeatedly extending a ban on
enforcement action – has just kicked the problem down the road. Some landlords have taken a collaborative and supportive approach, but we’ve also seen a significant swathe of landlords reject this approach and being heavy handed and aggressive. The time has now come to get this issue sorted.
UKHospitality submitted its evidence to the Government on the best way forward for the sector in tackling this issue. The level of rent debt simply cannot be paid off or carried forward. Our latest member survey found over half are simply not be able to pay their rent arrears, meaning that their business is at risk. So, we are calling for sustained and targeted intervention to help tenants and landlords to reach agreement. Our overriding principle is that there has to be a sharing of the pain caused by Government closures and restrictions. We are proposing that full protections remain
in place for a further six months for hospitality businesses, allowing time for a longer-term solution to be developed, establishing the nature of the recovery and what restrictions remain in place (hopefully none).
In addition, a blanket binding adjudication needs to occur that eliminates at least 50% of rent debt for closure periods for hospitality and 25% for periods when restrictions are in place. This is fair and shares the pain.
Even after the proposed removal of restrictions on 21st June it will take some time for businesses to return to pre-pandemic trading levels. That is why ongoing protection is essential. With the continuation of support from Government on this issue, we can see our sector recover and thrive for the long term. The alternative is that any recovery is strangled and more businesses are lost.
6
May 2021
www.venue-insight.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
