London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

Covid: Pubs and restaurants warn time running out to help

Covid: Pubs and restaurants warn time running out to help

The chancellor needs to "get his act together" and provide support for struggling hospitality businesses, the boss of two restaurant chains has said.

David Page, chairman of the firm which runs the Real Greek and Franco Manca, said Rishi Sunak needed to provide financial help "in the next 24 hours".

It comes as 100,000 retail, hospitality and leisure businesses called on government for more support.

The government is yet to offer further measures for struggling businesses.

Mr Page said the country was in "lockdown by stealth" due to government advice to limit social contacts.

"The chancellor better get his act together otherwise it's going to be a really horrible Christmas for our sector," said Mr Page, chairman of Fulham Shore.

"If you want a choice of restaurants the chancellor, needs to do something very, very quickly.

"I'm not sure any of the cabinet understand cash flow and cash flow is the problem at the moment, over the last week or two and over the next 10 days."

Restaurants and pubs have been dealing with large numbers of cancellations in the run-up to Christmas as fears have risen over the spread of Omicron.

The hospitality industry has estimated takings in December will be down by 40% - with the damage up to twice that in London.

A letter to the chancellor, penned by 100,000 businesses, argued existing support from the government was "insufficient".

Matthew Sims, head of Croydon Business Improvement District, said it was "alarming" that Mr Sunak was "doggedly sticking to measures which are out of date and out of touch with the stark and desperate reality retail, hospitality and leisure businesses are facing".

'Decimated'


Mr Page said that while city centre branches of Franco Manca and Real Greek restaurants were experiencing a dip in sales, trade in commuter areas across England was up.

"We have got a geographical spread, that helps us. If you're exposed to central London and you've only got one or two sites, you're in trouble at the moment," he said.

Nick Mackenzie, boss of pub chain Greene King, said bookings had been "decimated" across the business amid the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

He agreed with Mr Page that the country was in lockdown "in all but name", due to government messaging.

He called on the government for "urgent" help, with others saying firms needed support "in the next 24 hours".
Staff member cleaning table


Greene King, which manages 1,700 pubs and rents out 1,000, faced an "incredibly difficult" situation during what would usually be its busiest trading period of the year, Mr Mackenzie said.

"Demand has dropped, bookings have been decimated, in some parts of the country we are 70-80% down on 2019," he said.

Mr Mackenzie said the government "should be commended" for the measures it brought in to help hospitality businesses earlier in the pandemic, but added that the situation was "urgent again now".

"We need them to move towards things like furlough support for [pubs] that we are having to close or those severely impacted, business rates relief, and removal of the cap on business rates."

The government has not ruled out bringing in further Covid restrictions before Christmas, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid telling the BBC's Andrew Marr Show there were "no guarantees" in a pandemic.

Greene King said if it had to close sites due to government restrictions, the shut down and then reopening costs to the business would be about £5,000 per pub.

'Food going to waste'


The UK's food and drink wholesalers, which supply schools, care homes and hospitals as well as pubs and restaurants, have warned they face losing millions of pounds if a new lockdown is announced, with millions of tonnes of food currently in warehouses going to waste.

The Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) said businesses could "no longer absorb the losses caused by last-minute closure of their customers".

Chancellor Mr Sunak met with representatives from the hospitality sector last Thursday to discuss their concerns, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised people to "think carefully before you go" out to socialise. The UK's chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty also urged people not to "mix with people you don't have to".

A Treasury spokesperson said: "The chancellor has spoken to a range of business and industry leaders in recent days.

"We recognise how important the festive period is for so many businesses and the government will continue to engage constructively on how it can best provide ongoing support to the businesses and sectors affected."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×