The boss of a leading pub and brewery chain says many pubs will not be able to survive until they are allowed to reopen by the Government – and is calling for the Chancellor to provide more emergency support.
Kevin Georgel, chief executive of St Austell Brewery, has welcomed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “road map” to reopening the economy after the third coronavirus lockdown.
But with pubs not allowed to open indoors until May 17, Mr Georgel said many will face going out of business without more Government help.
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Mr Georgel, in , said that while pubs can reopen their beer gardens from April 12, it may not be commercially feasible for them to do so.
He said his company is now looking at how many of its own 178 outlets will be able to operate in April. But he warned that about 60% of all 海角视频 pubs will have top remain closed until May, resulting ina £1.5billion hit to the sector.
Mr Georgel, who had to make 100 redundancies in 2020 due to the pandemic, said in his letter that the Government had at least “provided us with some much-needed clarity on the roadmap out of lockdown”.
And he welcomed the end of restrictions that prevented pubs from being able to operate “viably” in late 2020, including the 10pm curfew and the “substantial meal” rule, which he said were based on “very little scientific evidence”.
But he warned: “The reality is that many pubs will not be able to hold out until April or May without vital financial support. Many pubs – those with little or no outside space – will not be able to reopen until May regardless of the Government making it legal to do so.
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“It simply won’t be commercially sustainable for them. As a business, we are currently working through this ourselves to see how many of our managed pubs it will be feasible for us to reopen under these circumstances.”
Mr Georgel said the British Beer and Pub Association had worked out that three in five pubs across the 海角视频 will have to remain closed until May at the earliest under the new regulations.
“That’s 29,000 businesses and a £1.5billion cost to our sector,” he said. “Those who do try to reopen with outdoor service only will also need support – they’ll have to contend with unpredictable British weather on top of limited capacity.
“Ultimately, many of our Great British pubs – part of our nation’s social fabric - will end up closing their doors for good unless the Government now step in.”
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Mr Georgel called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to use his March 3 Budget to extend support for the hospitality sector, until “such a time when we’re able to trade viably”.
He called for an extension of the business rates holiday for 12 months, an extended cut in VAT for 12 months, and a significant cut in beer duty, and said 海角视频 beer drinkers pay 11 times more than those in Germany and Spain.
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Mr Georgel also urged the Chancellor to extend the furlough scheme to protect jobs “until we emerge from lockdown in June”. He said: “The Government’s vaccination programme has been an extraordinary success and we’re very proud to say that some of our furloughed team members have been supporting the national effort, by volunteering as vaccination stewards.
“However, in light of how successfully it’s been rolled out, we were extremely disappointed to hear the news that hospitality will not be able to open in line with other parts of the economy, such as non-essential retail. We strongly believe, given the opportunity, that hospitality should play a vital role in both our economic and social recovery.
“Our sector shouldn’t be pushed to the back of the queue once again. As always, St Austell Brewery stands ready to reopen our pubs responsibly – providing a safe environment for our teams and our guests.”