All MCA Insight articles in March 2020 – Page 8
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NewsIndustry reaction: innovation, adaptation and closure
Following Tuesday’s Government advice, bars, restaurants and pubs have started implementing their own coronavirus mitigation measures. From innovative click-and-collect initiatives to a pre-empted ‘hibernation,’ here’s a roundup of some of the recent operator announcements.
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NewsMarch 2020
Unfortunately one issue is dominating the news agenda. Coronavirus presents any number of difficulties for the industry and for now we are in the unenviable position of not knowing how severe they could be. Contributing editor Peter Martin and columnist Dom Walsh explore the issue in their latest columns.
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NewsUKH and Industry CEOs call on Government for immediate support
In a joint letter with UK Hospitality, over 200 CEOs from across the hospitality industry have appealed to the Prime Minister to ’act without delay’ in implementing immediate government support for the sector.
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NewsDarwin & Wallace: ‘There’s going to be a huge human cost to this’
London-based bar and restaurant group Darwin & Wallace felt an immediate affect following the Government’s advice to avoid pubs, bars and restaurants yesterday, managing director Mel Marriot has told MCA.
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NewsHonest: Operators laying off staff ‘left right and centre’
The Prime Minister’s intervention yesterday was “the final nail in the coffin” in terms of the government’s approach to the hospitality industry, Honest Burger MD Dorian Waite has told MCA.
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NewsIndustry leaders call for ‘drastic’ Government action
Following Boris Johnson’s announcement yesterday advising the UK to “avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues,” leaders from across the hospitality industry have warned of the devastating effect these measures will have if the sector is not supported accordingly.
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NewsJDW: Dutch approach in tune with ‘robust instincts of the nation’
Wetherspoons chairman Tim Martin has described the government’s de facto lockdown as a “tactical error”, and called for it to adopt the Dutch position.
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NewsCarluccio’s: ‘There will be no high street left if the government does not intervene.’
The hospitality sector is on a “war footing”, and requires an “across the board, fast injection” of capital from government, Carluccio’s CEO Mark Jones has told MCA.
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NewsSunak needs to Super-Size it
The government has put the hospitality industry into limbo, and limbo is a terrible place to be. Yesterday, the PM warned the British public against visiting pubs, restaurants, theatres and bars across the country. For an industry already taking a battering by the coronavirus this was a staggering blow. Effectively the UK has been warned off visiting the likes of Costa, Greggs, McDonald’s, Wetherspoons and more.
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NewsDom Walsh: A growing sense of the surreal
It seems bizarre, but when I wrote my last column only a month ago, coronavirus was still pretty much a Chinese issue that seemed a long way removed from mainland Europe, let alone the UK. The subjects I touched on included the rise of vegan food, Dry January and the rise and rise of Greggs.
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NewsGovernment preps support package
The Government is working on an economic rescue package after dire warnings from the leisure sector that the coronavirus pandemic will lead to widespread business failures, the Financial Times reports.
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News
UK must follow France’s lead - NTIA
The Night Time Industries Association described the Prime Minister’s announcement as devastating, leaving many businesses, staff and suppliers, with no support.
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NewsCity Pub Co takes steps to preserve cash
City Pub Company has reported turnover up 11% against the same period last year, but like for like sales down 4.5%, for the first 11 weeks to 15 March 2020.
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NewsThousands of pubs will close without support - BBPA
Thousands of pubs and hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost in the short term unless the industry is provided with cash and liquidity, the British Beer & Pub Association has warned.
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NewsUK urged to avoid pubs and restaurants by PM
Boris Johnson has told the UK to “avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues” as he announced a series of measures to control the coronavirus that will pile more pressure on the hospitality industry. The news comes after a day where listed operators took a battering, with Marston’s ...
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NewsListed groups make heavy losses amid coronavirus bloodbath
Listed restaurant and pub suffered a day of carnage today as the coronavirus outbreak took its toll on operators’ share prices.
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NewsTime Out closes five markets
Time Out has closed its food markets as a result of the coronavirus. In a statement, it said it has “until now not experienced any material impact on its trading related to the COVID‐19 outbreaks. It is only in very recent days that we have observed any change in footfall to the Time Out Markets and delays to advertising campaigns.
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NewsNYC and LA shut down bars and restaurants
Bars and restaurants have been limited to preparing deliveries or takeaway food in New York and LA in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus. Nightclubs, cinemas, theatres and concert venues will also close. “These places are part of the heart and soul of our city,” said NYC mayor Bill de Blasio. “But our city is facing an unprecedented threat, and we must respond with a wartime mentality.
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News“Drastic Impact” requires government intervention
Industry figures have called for a series of tax breaks and subsidies for hospitality over fears that hundreds of operators could go out of business thanks to the coronavirus. One CEO of a major casual dining operator told MCA the situation was having a “drastic impact” on trading and was “very worrying for all”. Wireless Social said when the weekend began, London was hit by a 30% reduction in footfall which was “entirely unprecedented”.
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NewsSpend and frequency down at Dinner
Eating out at Dinner has fallen in frequency and average spend this month as the storms and coronavirus rattle consumer participation, MCA’s latest Eating Out Panel has revealed.