The boss of pub chain Greene King says bookings have been "decimated" across the business amid the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Chief executive Nick Mackenzie said the country was in lockdown "in all but name", due to government messaging "around reducing social contact".
He called on the government for "urgent" help, with others saying firms needed support "in the next 24 hours".
The government is yet to offer further measures for struggling businesses.
Restaurants and pubs have been dealing with large numbers of cancellations in the run-up to Christmas as fears have risen over the spread of Omicron.
The hospitality industry has estimated takings in December will be down by 40% - with the damage up to twice that in London.
Greene King, which manages 1,700 pubs and rents out 1,000, faced an "incredibly difficult" situation during what would usually be its busiest trading period of the year, Mr Mackenzie said.
"Demand has dropped, bookings have been decimated, in some parts of the country we are 70-80% down on 2019," he said.
Mr Mackenzie said the government "should be commended" for the measures it brought in to help hospitality businesses earlier in the pandemic, but added that the situation was "urgent again now".
"We need them to move towards things like furlough support for [pubs] that we are having to close or those severely impacted, business rates relief, and removal of the cap on business rates."
'Lockdown by stealth'
David Page, the chairman of Fulham Shore, which runs the Real Greek and Franco Manca restaurant chains, urged Chancellor Rishi Sunak to announce further support for businesses "in the next 24 hours".
Mr Page said the country was in "lockdown by stealth" due to government advice to stay away from crowded areas, "which may be a very good idea health-wise but it's ruining a lot of small businesses".
"The chancellor better get his act together otherwise it's going to be a really horrible Christmas for our sector," he added.
Mr Page said that while city centre branches of Fulham Shore's restaurants were experiencing a dip in sales, trade in commuter areas across England was up.
"We have got a geographical spread, that helps us. If you're exposed to central London and you've only got one or two sites, you're in trouble at the moment," he said.
The government has not ruled out bringing in further Covid restrictions before Christmas, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid telling the BBC's Andrew Marr Show there were "no guarantees" in a pandemic.
Greene King said if it had to close sites due to government restrictions, the shut down and then reopening costs to the business would be about £5,000 per pub.
Chancellor Mr Sunak met with representatives from the hospitality sector last Thursday to discuss their concerns, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised people to "think carefully before you go" out to socialise. The UK's chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty also urged people not to "mix with people you don't have to".
A Treasury spokesman has said the government is "closely monitoring the impact of the virus on the economy - and particularly the hospitality sector".
"Our £400bn Covid support package will continue to help businesses well into spring next year and of course we will continue to respond proportionately to the changing path of the virus," he added.
"help" - Google News
December 20, 2021 at 05:11PM
https://ift.tt/3EeTfBo
Covid: Pubs and restaurants call for urgent help - BBC News
"help" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2SmRddm
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Covid: Pubs and restaurants call for urgent help - BBC News"
Post a Comment