You are invited to the unemployment bureau. The UK’s restaurants are closing faster than during the COVID-19 economic disaster. Experts predict that over a third will be closed by 2023. It seems inflation was not temporary there.
The Guardian stated that the crisis was caused by a “toxic mixture” of rising energy costs, staff shortages, and falling bookings. This is despite restaurant closings increasing by 60% in the past year. Steve Bannon posted on GETTR that not only restaurants are affected by the crisis. He said that 50% of small British businesses stated they would close their doors after the holidays. This was in the first quarter or second quarter of ’23. Inflation has also increased food and energy costs, which has put many other businesses at serious risk of closing.
The Guardian reported that UK Hospitality, British Beer and Pub Association, and other industry groups had predicted mass restaurant closings. Mazars partner Rebecca Dacre said that insolvencies of restaurant companies are occurring at a much faster pace than during Covid. It is a toxic combination of rising input costs and sharply rising financing costs as well as weak demand. This combination of negative factors has never been seen by most restaurateurs before.
The Guardian, citing Barclaycard, reported that more than 50% of Britons plan to reduce their “essential spending”. Businesses, which saw a temporary increase in sales after COVID lockdowns were lifted briefly, will not see much increase in revenues during the busy Christmas season. Many businesses also make the majority of their annual profits around Christmas.
The Christmas trading season is a boom period for hospitality businesses. Dacre said that restaurants should be prepared for a difficult winter and that many will have to fight for survival. There is a high likelihood of them going bankrupt if they don’t get more government support, but there are very few chances that the government will fully open the taps.
According to The Guardian, “Post-Brexit migration rules prevent EU citizens from working in Britain.” “This has led to higher wages.” The Guardian did not mention that over 40,000 boat migrants arrived in Britain this year. Does that not theoretically mean that there are many workers, other than the British?
The Guardian reported, ”Closures in the restaurant sector rose by 60%, with 1,567 insolvencies over 2021-22, up from 984 during 2020-21, according to a study by the advisory firm Mazars. The figure includes 453 over the past three months, up from 395 in the previous quarter.” Not good news for Christmas.
