Well the predictions of carnage and mayhem failed to materialise, despite the best efforts of some media outlets and newspapers attempts to suggest otherwise.
By Sacha Lord, night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester
Tomorrow (4 July) is the day we have all been waiting for and while there is a quiet confidence in the air, I’m well aware of the nervousness across the sector.
The Morning Advertiser's editor Ed Bedington reviews the biggest news stories from the pub sector after another week in lockdown without an update from the Government on reopening guidelines.
The pub sector has called on the Government to clarify when it will reveal more details about reopening, following media speculation about what they will be permitted to do.
Licensee Alex Cook has gone from a one-man-band operation at the start of lockdown to successfully building up a new arm to his business to the extent where he’s now bringing staff back from furlough.
The operator of 11 eclectic concept bars and restaurants, Inception Group, has revealed that it plans to use playful PPE (personal protective equipment) – such as beekeeping outfits – to take the sting out of Covid-19 social distancing measures.
The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has called on the Government to provide ‘urgent clarity’ on when some 27,000 pubs with beer gardens will be able to trade in outdoor areas post-lockdown.
Heineken’s pub arm Star Pubs & Bars has extended rent relief for leased and tenanted pub operators throughout July and August amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, taking its total rent concession spending to around £21m.
The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) has found that while three quarters of pubs could reopen in some way, shape or form, under two-metre social distancing rules, 82% of them would do so at less than half of pre-pandemic turnover levels.
An action group set up to challenge Eaton Gate/QIC Europe Ltd’s denial of business interruption cover has appealed to publicans to get in touch about their policy.
Cider-maker Thatchers has announced it will be putting £1m behind helping publicans get back to business, offering every pub in the UK a free keg of its cider.
The Forum of Private Business and ‘Pub Defender’ Dave Mountford have founded an organisation to ‘protect and preserve British pubs and the publicans who operate them’ in light of issues exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The founder of Draft House, Charlie McVeigh, has launched a campaign advocating the swift and safe resumption of trade at Britain’s pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants.
Heath Ball, operator of the Red Lion & Sun in Highgate, north London, is delivering drinks to customers in a local park in a bid to reach more people and become ‘London’s largest beer garden’.
The Morning Advertiser's editor Ed Bedington reviews the biggest news stories from the pub sector after another week in lockdown - including the latest on social distancing measures and plans to reopen Young's and Liberation Group pubs.
Brewer and multiple pub operator West Berkshire Brewery is aiming to crowdfund £750,000 to fulfil ‘ambitious’ post-lockdown plans for its Maverick Pubs portfolio.
By Sacha Lord, night-time economy adviser for Greater Manchester
This week marks a positive step in our road to recovery as the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) looks set to advise how bars and pubs can reopen.
There is not a publican alive who is not praying to all that is holy for a 4 July reopening – and doesn’t the date have a special resonance, with an aroma of liberty, courage and festivity?
The operator behind the UK’s 167 Lounge and Cosy Club sites, Loungers, plans to ramp up its takeaway service imminently as it eyes new post-lockdown revenue streams.
Channel Islands-based pub operator Liberation Group has revealed which of its pubs on Guernsey and Jersey will reopen first amid the lifting of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
After reopening under one-metre social distancing, a gastropub operator in Denmark’s capital has revealed that it would have been ‘impossible’ for his businesses to turn a profit had measures not been reduced from two metres.
Trade bodies representing the pub sector have put their weight behind a test court case that will attempt to find legal clarity on the wording used by insurers that have denied operators pay-outs.
Housing minister Simon Clarke has revealed the Government intends to maintain two-metre social distancing despite calls from the hospitality sector and senior MPs for its reduction.
From an award-winning pub cutting its wine stock in half to another site that won’t rush to replace stock, will offering less mean more to recover your sales?
As reopening gets closer, you will have to look at the changing duties of staff members, how to split their shifts and whether you will have to change opening hours to suit needs.
Jayson Perfect says the tide is turning when it comes to reopening locked down sites at Channel Islands-based pub group Liberation – if only there was a word to describe the action of setting them free?
Operators have shared the realities of sustaining their business after being excluded from the Government’s grant scheme for hospitality businesses at the start of the coronavirus shutdown, with stories of facing the prospect of letting staff go, amassing...
After a fire closed his business for six months, licensee Brendan Padfield learnt lessons that he has used to put the pub in the best stead for reopening after the coronavirus closure.
The majority of operators asked in a weekly hospitality poll have said they plan to keep their food and drink prices the same as before lockdown, while half also said they expected trade levels to reach no more than 40% of pre-coronavirus levels in the...
In the latest Legal Q&A from specialist licensing solicitors Poppleston Allen, we take a closer look at licence and permit renewal as well as the potential drawbacks of a company voluntary arrangement.
Over recent years, the trade has stepped up a gear to entice school leavers into its workforce. Competition is hot but just how compatible is the current legislation in terms of being able to compete?
At the time of writing (1 June), we are still awaiting both relaxation of the lockdown regulations and guidance for the hospitality sector from the Government on reopening and, until then, we are all still flailing around in the darkness.
Insurance companies Aviva and QBE (UK) Limited have been chosen as the focus of an action group that intends to launch a group claim against insurers refusing to pay out to pubs for loss of income during the coronavirus crisis.
