MA's Review of the week
‘People want to support us, but we just can’t operate’
The Morning Advertiser's Ed Bedington speaks with PS the Pub Company’s Carlos Maidana to discuss the big issues from the pub sector this week.
Further reading:
- Tier drop: what impact could the new Covid-19 alert system have on pubs? - The day after another 696 coronavirus-related deaths were recorded across the UK – the highest daily total since start of May – the Government has cooked up a new three-tiered trifle to force feed the embattled on-trade.
- ‘No hard evidence on curfew’ admits Gov adviser Vallance - The decision to implement a curfew on pubs, restaurants and the rest of the hospitality sector was a “policy decision” that had “no hard evidence” behind it preventing the spread of coronavirus, the Government’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance has admitted.
- Pub sales plummet 84% on first post-lockdown weekend - A British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) survey suggests that more than half of operators expect to close pubs that re-opened after England’s second national lockdown if trade doesn’t improve in the coming weeks.
- Estimated 2,500 pubs lost in 2020 - More than 2,000 pubs have been lost this year, over double the number in previous years, it has been estimated.
- Operators mentally drained, joyless and heartbroken after a week of new tiers - The Morning Advertiser’s social media followers shared their experiences of trading under various levels of the Government’s more stringent Covid alert system since 2 December.
- Officials accused of ‘intimidation’ over enforcement of pub rules - Police have been accused of “overzealous” enforcement of tier two restrictions in pubs, with landlords reporting officers arguing over ’substantial meal’ regulations and throwing out customers after they finished eating.
- 650k hospitality jobs lost in 2020 - This year has seen an estimated 650,000 job losses in the hospitality sector, a new study has revealed.
- How and where can pubs serve alcohol under the Government's winter tiers? - The old proverb that "necessity is the mother of invention" has been ringing in pub operators’ ears throughout the Covid-19 pandemic even if their tills haven’t quite been ringing at the same frequency.
