Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously announced some pubs would be allowed to reopen no sooner than 4 July. However, in recent weeks, Johnson and other Government heads have indicated this could happen sooner, with dates as early as 22 June being thrown around.
How much will it cost per site to ensure staff and customer safety:
- 3% said £1,000 – £2,000
- 24% said £2,000 – £3,000
- 13% said £3,000-plus
- 29% said they didn’t know
- 31% said up to £1,000
Reopening the pub
With or without a confirmed date, many pub leaders remain sceptical about reopening under social distancing measures, while other have also highlighted the fact there will be additional financial pressures on the trade to ensure staff and customer safety.
In a recent Hospitality Leaders Poll by MCA Insight/HIM, 24% of the 270 pub bosses asked claimed it would cost them between £2,000 and £3,000 to put coronavirus-specific safety measures in place once they are allowed to reopen.
A further 13% said it could cost them more than £3,000, however, 31% said they would need to pay out no more than £1,000. Just under a third (29%) said they didn’t know how much it would cost.
In terms of reopening, a third of operators said they would be ready to do so by the Prime Minister’s provisional date of 4 July.
Two weeks’ notice
Another 23% said they would need two weeks’ notice to reopen, 17% said they would need just one week, while 17% said it would take longer and 9% said they didn’t know how much time they would need to get their businesses in order.
Following reopening, the majority of the 270 pub industry respondents to the poll said it would take up to 12 months to hit pre-coronavirus turnover levels, 41% said longer than a year, 10% said up to six months, 2% said two months and just 1% believed they would hit optimum turnover levels within a month.
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