The BII is pleased that Government have now confirmed a reopening date of the 4th of July for hospitality businesses. Enabled by the reduction in distancing from 2m to 1m, many of our pubs can finally look forward to bringing their businesses out of hibernation and beginning the slow journey on the road to economic recovery.
As part of the Government Taskforce for reopening pubs, we look forward to the official Government guidance being published imminently.
The BII will be working closely with their members to help them through the planning and risk management that will be required to safely reopen their pubs and ensure ongoing customer confidence. This will be supported by their newest Helplines Partners, Shield Safety Group, who are providing BII members with a free risk assessment template, a companion guide and the full support from an EHO professional over the telephone.
BII CEO, Steven Alton commented:
“Whilst today’s news has been welcomed, this is just the beginning of the next phase for our members. 1 in 10 pubs are still not able to open their doors until any restriction on distance is removed. Of those that can open, the majority will be trading at a loss for many months.
With the 4th of July a short time away, pubs have significant challenges ahead, including; providing table service where possible, the requirement of collection of data from visitors to pubs, the costs of bringing back teams from furlough, restocking cellars and physical changes to the layout of their pubs to allow for the 1m distance. All of these factors will require investment at a time where pubs have had no income for over 3 months and will be trading at a loss for the foreseeable future.
Ongoing business support will be critical and we have called on the Chancellor for the following; full furlough until October, additional grants including lifting of the barrier of £51k RV to allow grants for all, access to an extended bounce back loan and an extension to the business rates holiday until April 2022.”
In addition to the announcements today, the BII are looking forward to the review by the Chancellor of the further measures that will be needed to safeguard our pubs futures that are expected to be announced in early July.
Notes to the editor:
About the British Institute of Innkeeping:
The BII is the leading independent licensee support organisation for individuals working in hospitality, with over 8,500 individual members running premises across the UK – predominantly tenanted, leased, managed and freehold pubs. The organisation provides integral helplines, online business support, and guidance on key industry issues, face-to-face networking opportunities and savings on a range of supply deals for its members.
For further information please contact:
Molly Davis, Head of Communications
molly.davis@bii.org