Overview

• A joint survey of members of the BII, BBPA, UKHospitality and Hospitality Ulster reports 69% of businesses are operating at or below 85% capacity.
• Rising costs since April have led 79% of operators to increase prices and more than half to reduce staff numbers.
• Cash buffers are thin, with 73% reporting less than six months of reserves and 20% saying they have none.
• The trade bodies attribute an additional annual sector cost of roughly £3.4 billion to April Budget measures and estimate around 84,000 jobs have been lost since then.
• The groups are calling for a hospitality VAT cut, changes to employer National Insurance contributions and permanently lower business rates ahead of the next Budget.