Covid business grants not enough, hospitality firms say

Businesses in the hospitality industry hit by customers' renewed concerns over Covid have said a new weekly grant of up to £6,000 is not enough.

Earlier this week, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £1bn fund allowing firms to apply for a cash injection.

But a pub owner in North Lincolnshire said his firm was losing "a lot more" than £6,000 each week.

Meanwhile, other food businesses have called for "clarity" and for the furlough scheme to be reinstated.

Many hospitality and leisure firms have been hit by a collapse in bookings and reduced footfall due to people's fears over the spread of the Omicron variant.

Owners of restaurants, bars, cinemas and theatres can apply for a cash grant of up to £6,000 every week for each of their premises, Mr Sunak said on Tuesday.

Slawek Mikolajczyk, owner of The Hope and Anchor Pub in South Ferriby, said "any help" was welcome, however he asked: "It's £6,000. How far is that going to go?"

"We'll see, but we are losing a lot more than that in one week. So it's appreciated, but I think they should do a lot more...Definitely it doesn't go far enough," he said.

Mr Mikolajczyk added that his pub had suffered "up to 60%" of booking cancellations in the past year and the grant would "probably cover some of the cancellations for this week and that's it."

"We thought we were going to be open as normal, so we employed a few more staff just to be ready. Unfortunately, customers are scared so they're just cancelling and there's not much we can do apart from asking customers to buy a voucher to see us next year," he said.

Crystal Marinas, who runs The Black Horse pub near Spalding, Lincolnshire, said she was concerned the family firm would not get the full £6,000 of aid because the rateable value of the small business was under £15,000.

"It feels a bit like a plaster, when actually right now we could do with a bandage and a great big hug," she said.

"The trade isn't there. We've spent a lot of money getting it ready, then the cancellations come in and we haven't had the turnover."

Echoing Mr Mikolajczyk, Ms Marinas said she also had monthly running costs far exceeding the £6,000 funding.

"We've already got huge bills now that need paying but we don't know how we're going to pay them. When we don't get the bums on seats it's truly heart-breaking.

"Of course, anything is better than nothing - but we don't know how long we've got to make that [grant] last."

Meanwhile, food businesses in Leeds said there was mixed government messaging, with one calling for "clarity and a clear plan".

Valerie Kolat, who runs the Dapur Malaysia restaurant in Chapel Allerton, said: "Good they have stepped up to help, but really disappointed with the way it's being handled. The lack of clarity and the never-ending leaks is quite torturous."

She added her restaurant had seen "just six months of 'normal' trading" since it opened in August 2019.

Street food vendor Jamie Ooi, who owns Little Bao Boy in Leeds, called for the furlough scheme to be "reinstated to fully support us".

"The up-to-£6,000 doesn't cover half my wages and 12.5% VAT of zero sales is still zero," said Mr Ooi.

He said the government needed to convey "a clear plan so we business owners are also able to plan".

The Treasury has been approached for a comment.