New: More than HALF of UK’s event companies expect bankruptcy by spring
Stark new figures suggest that some 61 per cent of the UK’s events businesses expect to shut up shop within the next six months.
The polling further suggests that 400,000 jobs will be lost in the industry by the end of 2020 without further government support.
The survey was carried out by Feast It, the UK’s largest online events platform.
Read more: A second lockdown could effectively destroy the hospitality industry
The average business in the industry – which encompasses everything from caterers to marquee suppliers – has lost £83,000 in turnover since March.
The hospitality industry more broadly has been hit hard by new restrictions announced by the Prime Minister a fortnight ago, with a new 10pm curfew in place as well as further obligations placed on event managers and venues which have increased cost and reduced demand.
The events industry is worth £70bn to the UK economy.
Many firms, who rely on busy wedding seasons and summer festivals, are also reporting much lower demand than usual for 2021, with 56 per cent of suppliers facing another down year.
Adrian Luckie, founder of Mama’s Jerk, an events business providing Jamaican-style catering, said: “Our incredible industry has effectively been banned. We’ve been given no clear direction on how we can make it through this crisis and all that we’re looking for at this stage is clarity on how we can survive.”
Read more: London without its hospitality businesses isn’t the London we love