Hospitality to help ‘reignite’ UK economy

Published: 15 March, 2021

Hospitality can play a critical role in rebooting the UK economy if it receives the necessary levels of support from government.

This is the headline takeaway from the latest CGA Business Leaders’ Survey, which found that 81% of hospitality business leaders believed the sector could help significantly boost the UK economy as Covid-19 recedes.

Moreover, 65% agreed that hospitality would be key in job creation, also with the ability to bring together and help repair pandemic-battered communities and town centres.

With the UK vaccine rollout ahead of plan, there has also been a marked upturn in the confidence of leaders around the outlook for their businesses.

The number now optimistic about the next 12 months has risen to 54%, against just 27% in November 2020, across a sector that has seen 12,000 licenced premises close since December 2019.

This uptick in optimism appears to be well grounded, with 59% of survey respondents saying that they plan to open new sites in 2021, and 75% saying they are or will be looking to recruit new staff, predicting that staffing levels will rise to 90% of pre-pandemic levels by December 2021.

Those staff will, said respondents, be drawn from both those furloughed and those that have lost their jobs during the last 12 months while the pandemic has hobbled the sector.

The CGA research also suggested that the ability once again to visit hospitality venues will play an important role in mental wellbeing for consumers that have been isolated and stressed during restrictions and lockdowns.

“There’s no doubt that hospitality will help to reignite the UK’s economy and social life this summer and beyond,” said CGA’s business unit director Karl Chessell.

“We are likely to see a major release of pent-up spending, and the growing confidence of business leaders suggests plenty of jobs will be created in the coming months. In the meantime businesses need help to get through to reopening, followed by the freedom to trade fully again as soon as possible.”

CGA’s Business Leaders’ Survey was supported by Fourth and carried out from 5 to 15 February alongside research for UK Hospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association and the British Institute of Innkeeping.

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