London pubs and restaurants suffer sharp sales drop in July
UK pubs, bars and restaurants suffered a 50 per cent drop in sales in July as the sector reopened after lockdown, with London the worst affected area in the country, according to the latest research.
London venues were the worst hit, falling 58.3 per cent last month, compared to July 2019, while hospitality firms outside the M25 suffered a drop of 48.5 per cent.
The capital’s hospitality sector has called for extra help from both central government and the mayor of London as it has been hit by a drop in the number of office workers and tourists visiting the city centre.
Pubs fared better than restaurants and bars, with sales down 44.7 per cent, 59.8 per cent and 63.3 per cent respectively.
The UK hospitality industry was allowed to reopen from 4 July with social distancing measures in place. Many operators have gradually reopened sites, and some are still not open.
By the end of July, 76 per cent of group-owned sites that were trading in February were back open by the end of July.
Karl Chessell, director of business insight consultancy CGA, said: “Even before lockdown the casual dining boom had stalled and a number of groups were closing sites and restructuring.
“The COVID crisis looks to have accelerated that trend, and it is unclear how many of those group-owned restaurants will eventually reopen, certainly under current ownership.”
Delivery accounted for 13.1 per cent of sales among the casual dining groups in study in July, up from 7.4 per cent in March when the effects of Covid-19 were first felt and 5.9 per cent in February.
“The growth in delivery has been a marked feature of lockdown, and is likely to remain an important sales component for those food-led businesses that make it through,” Chessell added.
Mark Sheehan, managing director of Coffer Corporate Leisure, added: “Despite the fanfare over the July 4 reopening date for hospitality, in reality trade is recovering slowly.
“The restaurant sector, already under severe pressure pre-COVID has been decimated by the lockdown. The pub sector has proven to be more resilient as expected and is now bouncing back strongly in many areas.
“The August numbers will be helped by more people returning to work, Eat Out to Help Out, and also habits starting to return to usual and so we will see a marked increase in certain areas. Central London, however, still lags the rest of the country.”