10/01/2023 08:51:00
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has told business groups that the current level of energy bill support is "unsustainably expensive" and cannot continue at its current rate. He is understood to have told the meeting that no government could "permanently shield" businesses from high energy prices. The £18b Energy Bill Relief Scheme launched in October and is due to end in its current form after six months. However, hospitality operators have told The Caterer it has been unclear how deductions have been applied to their bills. Hunt will set out how help with businesses' energy costs will continue beyond March 2023 in the House of Commons next week.
Roxy Leisure has announced plans to open its second site in Birmingham in February, as the Roxy Ball Room brand arrives in the city. The new Roxy Ball Room will be located at 1 Victoria Square, which has stood empty since Kong decided not to reopen after the pandemic. Pub & Bar report that Roxy Leisure's current Digbeth site will be re-branded and become a Roxy Lanes to mark the shift in focus from ball games to bowling.
More than 50% of businesses do not have the necessary cash reserves to survive the early part of 2023, a flash poll conducted by the Night-Time Industries Association (NTIA) has revealed. The poll, carried out on Tuesday 3 January, showed 53.7% of the 206 NTIA members surveyed did not make enough profit to cover cash reserve requirements during the festive period with trade down 16% on New Year's EVE and 21% across December as a whole compared with 2019, advises Morning Advertiser.
The impact of the train strikes has cost the hospitality sector a total of £2.5bn in lost sales since industrial action began in June last year, according to UKHospitality. Big Hospitality advised that the revised figure is significantly up on the originally estimated £1bn cost of the strikes.
Industry charity, Drinks Trust, is continuing to offer grants of up to £350 to help people in the hospitality industry struggling with rising energy bills. The group has raised over £150,000 to date for its Energy Crisis Fund, with £100,000 donated by Pernod Ricard UK. Applications are open for those working in the drinks and wet-led hospitality industry and will be assessed based on financial circumstances. The Drinks Trust said it was continuing to accept donations to the fund to help it provide ongoing support into 2023, reports The Caterer.
A Brighton manor house will be converted into a 'pub hub club' alongside accommodation for 566 students under a recently submitted £150m redevelopment plan, reports Property Week.