Last orders: Many pubs remain shuttered despite lockdown easing
Scores of British pubs remain shuttered despite the easing of lockdown restrictions across the country, new research has suggested.
A survey of 1,000 Brits carried out by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) found that 40 per cent of people say their favourite boozers are still closed.
The lobby group said many pubs were still yet to reopen due to ongoing restrictions that require social distancing, no standing, table service and observing the rule of six indoors.
Many smaller watering holes do not have the space to operate viably in keeping with social distancing rules, it added.
The BBPA called for the removal of all restrictions across the UK, warning the “overwhelming majority” of pub businesses were unviable.
“The current restrictions on pubs are flatlining their recovery before it’s even had a chance to begin,” said Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA.
“Pubs and licensees are struggling to recover with the current restrictions they face and debts are accumulating. Every week the current restrictions stay and uncertainty continues, the likelihood of pubs being lost forever increases.”
It comes as separate data revealed one in five businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors expect to lose more than half their revenue after the roadmap for easing lockdown was delayed by a month.
The vast majority of those companies said it would take more than six months to recoup the lost earnings, while more than a quarter said they would never make the money back.
The poll, conducted by student work app Stint, also revealed that more than 17,000 business owners expect to close for good due to the decision to keep restrictions in place until 19 July.
The fresh figures highlight the extent of the challenge faced by the UK’s pubs, bars and restaurants even after the strictest lockdown measures were eased.
Booze bosses are hoping for a boost to trading from warm weather, as well as the Euros football tournament.
But debit card spending data from Lloyds Bank released this week showed the footie had failed to translate into cash, with spending in pubs and restaurants in the first 13 days of the tournament lower than the 13 days before.
The Welsh Beer and Pub Association is hoping that Wales fans will buy half a million pints when the country takes on Denmark in the first knockout game this afternoon.
But the group estimated this was 120,000 fewer pints than would be sold if all restrictions were removed.