More than 30,000 pubs and restaurants to stay shut post-coronavirus
New poll suggests pandemic is final nail in coffin for many hospitality businesses
More than 30,000 UK pubs and restaurants will remain closed after the coronavirus lockdown is lifted, a new hospitality industry survey suggests.
The sector has been one of the hardest hit by the outbreak, with pubs throwing away beer and restaurants forced to shut their doors or transition into takeaways in order maintain an income.
And “experts predict a high proportion of restaurants won’t make it through to the other side of the Covid-19 crisis”, says The Telegraph.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Many were already “having a tough time” before the pandemic, with “about 2,800 bars and restaurants closed down in the 12 months before the lockdown began”, reports The Guardian.
“The 2.4% fall in the number of licensed premises in the year to the end of March was recorded by the CGA AlixPartners market recovery monitor, which now expects the decline to worsen once the hospitality sector begins to reopen at the start of July,” the newspaper continues.
The grim prediction comes after a third of hospitality business owners told CGA’s latest business confidence survey that they anticipated permanently closing sites.
Phil Tate, group chief executive at the research consultancy, said: “Industry estimates of the scale of closures vary widely, from below 10% to as high as 30% of total sites.”
A separate recent survey of British Beer and Pub Association members found that almost 19,000 out of the UK’s 47,000 boozers may not reopen.
Pubs and restaurants are among the so-called “higher-risk businesses and public places” that must remain closed until the beginning of July at the earliest, under the government’s latest guidance.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Casual Dining Group (CDG), owner of restaurant brands including Cafe Rouge, Bella Italia and Las Iguanas, this week announced that the company has filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators at the High Court, “putting the future of 6,000 workers in doubt”, reports the Daily Mirror.
A CDG spokesperson said: “This is an unprecedented situation for our industry and, like many other companies across the UK, the directors of Casual Dining Group are working closely with our advisers as we consider our next steps.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Horror stories of women having to carry nonviable fetuses'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Haiti interim council, prime minister sworn in
Speed Read Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns amid surging gang violence
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 26, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - teleprompter troubles, presidential immunity, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Is this the end of the big night out?
Talking Point Bar closures and Gen Z teetotallers threaten 'extinction' for 'messy nights on the town'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The birth of the weekend: how workers won two days off
The Explainer Since the 1960s, there has been talk of a four-day-week, and post-pandemic work patterns have strengthened those calls
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Why household wealth took off during the pandemic
Under The Radar The Covid-19 pandemic caused a lot of pain and hardship, but new research shows it also left most Americans wealthier
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Empty office buildings are blank slates to improve cities
Speed Read The pandemic kept people home and now city buildings are vacant
By Devika Rao Published
-
‘Ridiculous’ deal closes restaurant in weeks
feature And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Inflation vs. deflation: which is worse for national economies?
Today's Big Question Lower prices may be good news for households but prolonged deflation is ‘terrible for the economy’
By The Week Staff Published
-
What’s happening at McDonald’s?
Under the Radar Fast-food chain closed US offices and told staff to work from home while it announces job cuts
By Harriet Marsden Published
-
America's 'cataclysmic' drop in college enrollment
Today's Big Question "The slide in the college-going rate since 2018 is the steepest on record"
By Peter Weber Published