UKHospitality CEO says the Government must ‘subsidise bills or provide direct cash support’

The country is well aware of soaring energy bills and their devastating impact on our industry.

CODE has learned of a few examples: Gauthier Soho said its annual fee has risen from £25,000 to £160,000 a year; James Allcock, from the Pig & Whistle in Beverley, said the bill at his 22-cover restaurant has climbed from just under £3,000 annually to well over £20,000; at a small cafe in Leicester, one owner is facing costs of £55,000 in the same period, up from £10,000. Something has to give.

The UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls told CODE that the Government is poised to react, and could finally communicate with the sector this week. We hope this comes to pass.

She said reports claiming ‘a third of pubs will close’ won’t help, dubbing them ‘scaremongering’, but did concede around 8-10,000 business failures could happen without urgent support, and said ministers have no choice but to respond now.

Nicholls said: ‘Either the Government subsidises energy prices or provides direct cash support. Given the scale of the emergency, we need a response now, and it would be better to do this simply, by providing funds immediately.

‘Other measures such as business rate holidays and VAT cuts are also needed – these can be implemented overnight and we know these work. But we are also lobbying for immediate action to get businesses through.’