‘Significant’ numbers will not trade from 12 April

Two in five licensed premises – more than 41,000– will be able to trade from 12 April, but many will not because of profitability issues and poor weather.

The latest edition of CGA and AlixPartners’ Market Recovery Monitor, shows about 41,100 licensed properties in Britain have a garden, terrace, car park or other area in which they could potentially seat patrons – 38.2% of all sites.

The research shows the numbers fluctuate widely between segments: some 80.5% of community pubs in England are able to offer outside space compared with barely 12% of casual dining restaurants.

However, the Market Recovery Monitor shows a “significant” number of such sites were unlikely to trade from 12 April because the limitation of their space and the costs of equipping and staffing them will make profitable trading impossible.

The South West of England looks as if it has most to gain where more than 51% of sites have outdoor space.

Fewer than one third in London have outdoor space. More than 42% of pubs in Wales, where hospitality is can reopen outdoors from 22 April, have outdoor space.

Fewer than a quarter have capability to open outdoors in Scotland, where venues can open from 26 April.

Karl Chessell, CGA’s business unit director for hospitality operators and food, EMEA, said: “Well over half of licensed premises have no space at all in which to trade, though they could yet reopen in April if local authorities take a proactive approach and open up street space to serve on.”

Graeme Smith, AlixPartners’ managing director, said: “We’ve seen a spate of operators announce plans to reopen for outdoor service on 12 April [in England], and while it’s unlikely to be profitable for the majority to do so, businesses will do all they can to maximise their usable space.

Debt would weigh down many in the sector for some time to come and they would spend at least the next year rebuilding their balance sheets and clearing their arrears.

“The overhang of rent liabilities also remains largely unresolved which means that, in spite of the clear pent-up consumer demand that exists, the hospitality sector is far from out of the woods,” Smith said.