Legislation

London Mayor calls for 12-month business rates holiday extension

18-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has urged the Government to extend its business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses by a further year amid fears of tens of thousands of job losses.

86% of operators anticipating negative trade impact from ‘rule of six’

17-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

The majority of hospitality business operators expect the Government’s ‘rule of six’ to have a negative impact on trade when entering autumn, new figures have revealed.

More than 700,000 jobs at risk in night-time sector

17-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Over 700,000 more jobs in the night-time industry could be lost within weeks without Government help, a trade body has warned.

Curfew for north east pubs in 'compromise' with businesses

17-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

A 10pm curfew on pubs and bars in areas of the North East has been confirmed in an endeavour to tackle rising coronavirus cases.

Pubs given curfew in Welsh county

16-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pubs in the Welsh county of Rhondda Cynon Taf will be forced to close at 11pm after being linked to a rise in coronavirus cases.

UKH fires jobs warning as one in three still furloughed

16-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

At least 900,000 people working in hospitality face losing their job without a tailored support package, one of the sector's trade associations has warned.

Analysis

Students 'frustrated' with nights out ending at the pub

16-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Online classes and regular coronavirus testing are not the only changes for students heading back to university this autumn, with clubs closed for the foreseeable future and new laws limiting social gatherings.

Analysis

High Court ruling on business interruption insurance offers hospitality operators ‘huge lifeline’

15-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

The High Court has backed insurance policyholders in the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA)’s business interruption insurance test case, offering a 'huge lifeline' for embattled pub, bar and restaurant operators.

Opinion

Regulators v insurers: the verdict

15-Sep-2020 By Philip Kolvin QC, Cornerstone Barristers

Sometimes white smoke appears from a chimney and the result is clear. Sometimes, smoke rises from the battlefield, casualties are counted and it takes a century or two to work out who won and lost.

‘Hospitality will see a spike in redundancies once furlough ends’

15-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

The hospitality sector will witness a rise in job losses once the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) ends next month (October), a labour expert has warned.

Birmingham restrictions 'won't impact pubs'

15-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Restrictions on private gatherings come into force in parts of the West Midlands today (15 September) but people are still allowed to socialise with other households at pubs.

What is furlough fraud and what happens if operators commit it?

15-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

The Morning Advertiser takes a look at what furlough fraud is and the consequences of employers committing it.

Thousands of pubs under threat from £800m business rates bill

15-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has called on the Government to extend business rates relief to ensure that pubs facing average bill of £25,000 each don’t fall victim to the coronavirus crisis.

Customers in Scottish pubs must cover faces when moving around

14-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Scottish pubs will be subject to new regulations surrounding face coverings from today (Monday 14 September) as the country tightens coronavirus restrictions amid a rise in cases.

‘Rule of six’ comes into force today

14-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

The Government’s ‘rule of six’ will be enforced from today (Monday 14 September) meaning those breaking it could be arrested.

PCA updates Regulatory Compliance Handbook’s MRO guidance

14-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

The office of the pubs code adjudicator (PCA) has published a revised edition of its Regulatory Compliance Handbook featuring an updated chapter on market-rent-only (MRO) option proposals.

9 reasons customers have given as reasons not to follow guidelines

11-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

The Morning Advertiser has rounded up some of the 'reasons' why customers have refused to comply with Government guidance in pubs.

Bolton businesses should not be 'worse off'

11-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Publicans and Bolton Council have called for an extension of the existing furlough scheme after a localised shutdown of hospitality was ordered in the town.

50% of operators to make redundancies once furlough ends

11-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Half of operators have warned they will have to make redundancies when the furlough scheme ends next month (October).

MA’s Review of the Week

Furlough extension must be reviewed by Government to save pub jobs

11-Sep-2020 By Nicholas Robinson

If the Government does not extend furlough to the pub trade then it must give other financial support to the sector or see mass unemployment at a time when the economy needs support.

Licensing Hub – Legal with Poppleston Allen

Insolvency and your premises licence

11-Sep-2020 By Poppleston Allen

Sadly there are more hospitality businesses becoming insolvent due to the impact of Covid-19.

Customer data collection mandatory from 18 September

10-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pubs will be legally required to take their customer’s contact details from 18 September, the Government has confirmed.

PM rules out furlough extension

09-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

A Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) extension has been ruled out by Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a Downing Street press conference.

'Pubs should make sure customers are not in groups bigger than 6'

09-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Pubs should ensure guests are not in individual groups larger than six and groups are not allowed to mix socially or form bigger groups, Prime Minster Boris Johnson has confirmed.

Fines for pubs flouting coronavirus regulations

09-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pubs will be fined if they do not take adequate steps to ensure their venues are Covid-secure, the Prime Minister has said.

Contact tracing to be mandatory for pubs

09-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Taking customer contact details will be made a mandatory requirement for pubs and bars and venues that do not follow coronavirus guidance will be fined, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced.

6 people social gathering law ‘very problematic’ for trade

09-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

The Government’s new coronavirus restrictions that slashes social gatherings to a maximum of six people has been labelled “very problematic” for the sector.

Thousands of Scottish pub jobs ‘hang in the balance’

09-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pubs in Scotland desperately need measures to protect the thousands of jobs on the line, a leading sector voice has said.

Tenants to protest pub-owning hedge fund’s rent relief

09-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

A group formed by the tenants of 202 pubs owned by Global Mutual will march on Whitehall to deliver a letter to Small Firms Minister Paul Scully today (9 September) despite the hedge fund stating that it has provided £4.4m worth of pandemic support thus...

Industry calls for Bolton pub support package

09-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

A number of pub sector trade bodies have called on the Government to issue financial support for venues in Bolton following the forced closure of its hospitality businesses.

Ending furlough scheme in autumn will close more pubs, Labour warns

09-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

Shadow business minister Lucy Powell has warned that a ‘blanket approach’ to ending the Government-backed Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will see more pubs shuttered.

Bolton pubs limited to takeaways

08-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pubs in the Greater Manchester town of Bolton will only be allowed to operate as takeaways in a tightening of local coronavirus restrictions there.

Analysis

Covid-19 recession may yield ‘much sharper decline and recovery’ for pubs

07-Sep-2020 By Stuart Stone

While the UK recently slipped into its first recession since 2009 off the back of the coronavirus lockdown, early signs are the ‘dynamics’ affecting the pub sector will be different to those at play 11 years ago.

Several Bolton pubs shuttered as infection rate spikes

07-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

A handful of pubs in Bolton have temporarily closed their doors to protect public health amid a rapidly increasing infection rate.

More than 100m meals claimed in discount scheme

04-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

The Government’s Eat Out to Help Out discount meals scheme saw more than 100m meals claimed in less than a month, the Treasury has revealed.

British Gas 'tightened' approach to pub contracts

03-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

A pub operator has said he was left “gobsmacked” after being told British Gas would not take up a new contract because of the nature of his business.

Pubs 'should not host karaoke'

02-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pubs should still not host karaoke events amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has advised.

Applications for Government job creation scheme open

02-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Pub employers can apply to take part in the Government’s job creation scheme from today (2 September).

Employers to pay 10% of furlough wages from today

01-Sep-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Businesses including pub operators will have to pay 10% of furloughed workers’ wages with taxpayers contributing 70% from today (Tuesday 1 September).

'London is open' message desperately needed, CEOs urge

01-Sep-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Commuters, tourists and residents need to be encouraged to get back to drinking and dining in the capital to secure the recovery of hospitality there, chief executives have said in a letter to the Prime Minister and Mayor of London.

No shows ‘national problem’ operator says after 80 in 2 days

28-Aug-2020 By Emily Hawkins

The public lacks “common courtesy” for hospitality, a chef-owner has said after an unprecedented number of no-show bookings.

Yummy Pub Co: EOTHO has been positive but 'some people shouldn't be allowed out'

28-Aug-2020 By Ed Bedington

The Morning Advertiser editor Ed Bedington spoke with Yummy Pub Co's Tim Foster about how the Eat Out to Help Out scheme has impacted the business and what the future holds for them.

Three quarters of operators not continuing discount scheme into autumn

28-Aug-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Some 74% of hospitality operators will not be continuing an early week discount when the Eat Out to Help Out scheme ends this month (Monday 31 August), a study has found.

Opinion

‘I fear rule breaking will increase without more financial aid’

27-Aug-2020 By Sacha Lord, night-time economy adviser to Greater Manchester

Here we are on the cliff edge of September already.

Star Pubs and Bars among operators to extend EOTHO throughout September

27-Aug-2020 By Stuart Stone

Star Pubs and Bars, Oakman Inns, Hall & Woodhouse and Arc Inspirations have all pledged to fund the continuation of discounts available under the Government’s Eat Out to Help Out (EOTHO) scheme throughout September.

Two fifths of operators ‘being kept afloat by VAT cut’

27-Aug-2020 By Nikkie Thatcher

Some 39% of hospitality and leisure sector leaders have said the VAT cut on food, soft drinks and accommodation is keeping them afloat, according to a new study.

Opinion

'Knowing the pubs code will help tenants negotiate in this challenging time'

27-Aug-2020 By Fiona Dickie – pubs code adjudicator

During this uniquely challenging time the financial stresses that Covid-19 has inflicted on tied tenants should not exacerbated by pubs code breaches by their pub-owning business. The industry should know I am watching this very closely.

Pub crawls should be 'things of the past still', says minister

26-Aug-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Punters should not be drinking in large groups such as stag and hen parties, the Welsh health minister has said.

'Trade has dipped on Eat Out To Help Out days'

26-Aug-2020 By Emily Hawkins

Wet-led operators have said they are worried about the future of their businesses going into the autumn and called on the Government to extend support for community pubs.

Meals enjoyed through Eat Out To Help Out tops 64m

26-Aug-2020 By Emily Hawkins

More than 64m meals have been claimed through the Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme, the Treasury has revealed.