Colliers has called on the Government to step in and financially support the retail hospitality and leisure sector.
As John Webber Head of Business Rates at Colliers said, “It is ironic that on the day the Act of Parliament outlawing rating appeals became law, the Government through its announcements has damaged businesses in cities throughout the country who rely on visitors – this includes not only restaurants / bars and retail but also serviced offices.
“Although we are not yet in an official Lockdown such as we saw at the beginning of the year, we might as well be for the impact the Government’s public health messaging is having on public behaviour. With calls to work from home as much as possible and to reduce socializing yet again, the retail/ hospitality industry is losing custom at a rate of knots, costing billions of pounds. This should surely be accompanied by some sector specific financial support from the Treasury.”
According to research one tenth of British restaurants closed their doors permanently due to the pandemic and 1000 pubs/restaurants closed in the 3 months, July to September 2021, after the restrictions were lifted- that’s 16 per day.
“The industry was only just starting to recover,” added Webber, “And now it’s being hit for six again. The Chancellor needs to come out of the shadows and announce some key reliefs and he needs to do it now. “
