13/09/2022
More information on support for businesses amid the ongoing energy crisis is set to be announced in due course. Prime Minster Liz Truss on Thursday 8th September announced a new 'Energy Price Guarantee' where from 1st October, households will pay up to an average £2,500 a year on their energy bill for the next two years. Morning Advertiser reports that for businesses a new six month scheme will offer equivalent support as is being provided for consumers with the view to provide ongoing focused support for vulnerable industries.
Wetherspoon pubs across the UK will be cutting the price of all food and drink by 7.5% on Thursday 15th September to highlight the benefit of a permanent VAT reduction in the hospitality industry, reports Pub & Bar. Prices at the company's 851 pubs (not including Republic of Ireland) will be reduced for one day only to mark Tax Equality Day. In Scotland, prices will be reduced on meals and non-alcoholic drinks only due to licensing restrictions.
Hospitality benefitted from the warm weather and summer holidays as Brits flocked to pubs and enjoyed staycations last month. The Caterer reports that overall card spending declined -1.9% month-on-month, as consumers became more selective with discretionary purchases to ensure they can afford rising household bills. Restaurants and bars, pubs and clubs enjoyed a reprieve in August, rising 6.6% and 8.4% respectively; while the domestic travel sector also performed strongly, with summer staycations boosting hotels, resorts and accommodation by 4.1% month-on-month.
Late night club and bar operator REKOM has secured its fifth venue in Cardiff following the acquisition of Story nightclub. The deal for the Greyfriars Road venue follows REKOM's purchase of the city's former Yard Bar, which is now undergoing a £1.2m transformation into the UK's first Proud Mary Pub, reports Hospitality & Catering News.
More than 6,000 night time economy and hospitality businesses have written to their MPs demanding an emergency financial package to support them through the current cost of living crisis. The Night Time Industries Associations (NTIA), which represents some 1,400 independent bars, clubs and live music venues across the UK, says the future of the late night sector is finely balanced between the delivery of an effective survival package from the new Prime Minister and government and continued consumer spend, advises Big Hospitality.
Control Room B, a 1950s themed bar, is set to join the Battersea Power Station development. Hot Dinners advises that it will be based in the power station's old control room and is inspired by the Power Station architecture.