Results of our Lessons Learned Survey

Dear

We are so pleased that more of our members across the devolved nations will be able to reopen their pubs this week, with Scotland and Wales able to welcome customers back to their venues from today and Northern Ireland from Friday 30th April.

For those of you who are able to reopen this week, we know however, that this does not mean a return to profitability, with only 40% of pubs able to trade in their outdoor space and Scotland not able to serve alcohol indoors.

We will continue to push for a full reopening of hospitality venues, in line with Government roadmaps, with the expectation that all restrictions will be fully lifted this summer for the majority of our members.

Even then, longer term support will be needed for the months and years to come, including Government support in the form of reduced business rates and cuts to VAT, recognising that significant debts will have built up over the past year.

The Government is calling for evidence on rent debt from commercial landlords, and we would strongly encourage you to add your voices to that submission, which you can do via the link below.

We know that this a significant issue for many of you, but is just one dimension of the debts that will have added to the fragility of your businesses since the beginning of the pandemic. We fully understand the complexity of the challenges facing pubs over the last year, especially as these will be different for each of you, depending on your business model, geographical location and many other factors.

Last week, many of you kindly added your voices to our survey on Lessons Learned from reopening, the results of which are shared via the link below.

There was a wealth of information that will no doubt help those starting to reopen this week, and for those of you who will not reopen until more restrictions have been lifted over the next few months. We will continue sharing these elements of best practice from BII members as part of the fantastic collaboration we have seen in our industry, particularly over the course of the pandemic.

For many of you, there are ongoing challenges around both consistent enforcement of the relevant requirements for your pubs, alongside successfully accessing the Government Restart grant. We are meeting with teams across Government on a weekly basis, raising your specific concerns to ensure a joined up approach from Government and local authorities.

As ever, Your BII Team are here if you need any help and support.

Steven Alton
BII CEO