PRESS RELEASE 09 December 2021

£4BN LOSS PREDICTED FOR HOSPITALITY SECTOR

• UKHospitality, Purley BID, Croydon BID and Mayor of London joins call for urgent financial assistance for the UK’s hospitality sector following announcement of Plan B.
• Financial support can be provided by redirecting surplus funds from The Additional Restrictions Grant or by introducing a new discretionary fund, or both.

The UK’s hospitality sector is bracing itself for a £4bn hit in festive sales with the new ‘work from home’ directive killing off the UK’s hospitality sector this Christmas. Hospitality bosses believe reintroducing the ‘work from home’ guidance will diminish consumer confidence, resulting in widespread cancellations of bookings during the critical festive trading period.

UKHospitality, Purley BID, Croydon BID and Mayor of London have joined the call on behalf of the UK’s hospitality sector for urgent financial support to soften the blow to Christmas trading from new COVID guidelines by redirecting unspent grants available to the sector or by introducing new alternatives such as a discretionary fund to be administered by local authorities.

This call is further backed by British BIDs, The BID Foundation, Night Time Industries Association and the Association of Town and City Management who together collectively represent over 100,000 hospitality businesses.

Kate Nicholls, CEO, UKHospitality said, “The measures announced today will significantly impact consumer confidence and be particularly devastating to city and town centre venues. As such, they risk devastating the hospitality sector amid its most important time of the year.  We therefore desperately need support if we are to survive this latest set of restrictions and urge the government to stand behind our industry. That means full business rates relief, grants, rent protection and extended VAT reductions. Anything less would prove catastrophic.”

Simon Cripps, CEO, Purley BID said, “The Government must realise that with the public uncertainty around the new COVID variant, Omicron, and the news from the Prime Minister of the latest measures to manage the COVID pandemic, that there is a devastating impact onto the High Street at what should be the most profitable part of the year.

The “Work from Home” guidance has already led to many cancellations of Christmas parties and gatherings during the festive period which will lead to a very hard January for the retail hospitality and leisure sectors.

The Government must meet business halfway and introduce financial support such as a discretionary fund or the repurposing of The Additional Restrictions Grant fund. This needs to be allocated to businesses most affected during the busiest time of the year. Without it, we can expect further closures on our high streets.”

Marlon Johnson, Chairman Purley BID: “As businesses shift to working from home following the government guidance, there will now be a huge impact on small business districts such as Purley.

We once again have to point out to this Government that it is the retail and hospitality sectors that, over the past 18 months, have taken the biggest hit. These small businesses are being asked to take yet another huge impact blow as we come into Christmas, which is a crucial time for small businesses and the worker’s families that are dependent on their success.

Purley businesses have been exceptional in ensuring the safety of the community, looking after them with the measure that has put in place. We call on the Government to look after our small businesses in return and provide crucial additional financial support”

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