200 pints of lager and a packet of crisps: New pub funds leave sour taste in wet pubs
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 1 December 2020
200 pints of lager and a packet of crisps: New pub funds leave sour taste in wet pubs
- The fund would only cover the cost of a single keg of beer
- Pubs facing difficult winter ahead with collapse in footfall
Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement that £1,000 is to be made available for pubs in England that have seen footfall collapse under the new tiered restrictions, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chair Mike Cherry said:
“Pubs are facing a dark and difficult winter ahead and ahead of the new restrictions coming into force tomorrow, we need to see action if we are to save the nation’s pubs from collapse.
“Those so called ‘wet pubs’ that predominantly only sell alcoholic drinks have been left high and dry about how they are going to survive during what should be a normally busy and bustling festive period.
“Unless pubs in Tiers 2 and 3 are able to offer substantial meals or takeaways eservices, they face little prospect of any December uplift in takings, and it’s critically important that the government addresses this shortfall sooner rather than later.
“But today’s announcement simply does not go far enough at resolving this problem for wet pubs. The proposed funds from the Government hardly scratch the surface and we need to see this figure quadrupled at a bare minimum if it is going to have any genuine positive impact for the businesses affected.
“These funds would only cover the cost of a single keg of beer and very little more, which will come as little comfort to pubs who churn out multiple kegs a day during the festive period.
“Not only are pubs under the cosh, but suppliers too who have seen orders cancelled and put on hold until normality resumes, which is why further support for these groups is needed urgently.
“These have been incredibly difficult times for all small businesses across the country, and the government needs to produce funds and responses that genuinely save jobs, businesses and livelihoods rather than just act as a temporary sticking plaster.
“The next few weeks, for many, are normally the busiest of the entire year, and we need to see a pro-business government act now, before it’s too late.”
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