15/08/2023 09:49:00
Pubs in England and Wales will be able to continue selling takeaway drinks after the government decided to keep Covid licensing rules. They were allowed to serve customers through hatches when they were forced to close under pandemic laws in 2020. BBC reports that the rules were due to expire on 30 September, but they will now be continued until March 2025. The move - aimed at saving the trade from financial ruin - was previously extended twice during the pandemic. During the temporary extension of the rules the government said it would continue to look for a "permanent solution" to best support local pubs and bars.
UKHospitality has urged the government to act "sooner rather than later" to tackle the energy crisis after it was warned the UK is heading towards five years of "lost economic growth", reports The Caterer. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) forecast inflation to remain "higher than anticipated" into 2027 in predictions published on 9 August. It said that although the UK is expected to steer clear of recession in 2023, there are chances of GDP contracting by the end of this year, which could result in a "60 per cent risk of a recession at the end of 2024".
The owner of Center Parcs is racing to fashion a consortium out of the remaining bidders for the UK holiday resorts chain after a final bid deadline passed without any formal offers being made, according to people familiar with the matter, reports the Financial Times. Canadian private equity group Brookfield put Center Parcs up for sale earlier this year, aiming for a valuation of about £4bn for the upmarket chain, for which it paid £2.4bn in 2015. While Center Parcs has continued to perform strongly, the sale has been seen as test of a potential buyer's willingness to make a significant bet amid the economic pressures facing the UK and higher interest rates that have hit the buyout industry.
The cost-of-living crisis continues to impact consumer social lives, according to a new survey commissioned by late-night operator REKOM UK. Since autumn 2022, over a third (34.9%) of respondents to the latest REKOM Night Index have reduced the amount of times they go on a night out, advises Pub & Bar. Nearly half (49.6%) of those said this was as a result of increased general living costs, followed by more expensive bills (42.8%) and the need to save any spare disposable income (33%). Increased rent came out as a main concern for over a fifth (21.19%) of those aged 25-34. Pricing remains the most important factor for consumers when deciding whether to go on a night out. However, this has increased by 6% since the last REKOM Night Index in March 2023. Other top priorities included cheap or no entry fee (27.8%) and good value drinks (27%).
Morning Advertiser reports that CAMRA has demanded pubs that have been converted or demolished illegally must be rebuilt "brick by brick" after finding more than 30 sites may have suffered such fates in the past six months.