29 September Business minister announces new hospitality council Hospitality certainly needs a shot in the arm. The new council may be just what is required mediation, hospitality, hotels, local pub, bankruptcy Back in the summer the Prime Minister announced that there would be help for the hospitality industry by way of the appointment of a minister to oversee the sector.
23 September Pub and bar industry recovery due in 2024 A way to go but there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, accountancy advice, bankruptcy With the disastrous consequences of a total lockdown, it has been feared that it would take at least three years for the hospitality industry to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
2 August Hospitality industry generally trading at a low level It doesn’t look that good either from a trading or investment perspective. There is a long way to go before public confidence is restored mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, accountancy advice, bankruptcy The health of our hospitality industry is a matter of interest and I dare say concern to all of us.
25 February Preparing to re-open – what are the pitfalls? Caution caution caution! Don’t rush in and overdo it mediation, hospitality, hotels, local pub, accountancy advice, bankruptcy It is exciting – the road map suggests dates when in particular the hospitality industry can re-open – pubs, restaurants, hotels, even night clubs are all now in the running to get going again.
21 January Difficult plight ahead for hospitality businesses. Landlords poised to jump Big problems ahead in April when rental moratorium comes to an end mediation, hospitality, hotels, local pub, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy Yesterday we pointed out that it is going to be hard for hospitality businesses to recover and that the end of March is usually a bad time because bank interest or rent bills are due to be paid.
19 January Christmas and New Year are over. Now into the bleak mid-winter? 2021 is going to be a very hard year for the hospitality industry; there is just no indication of when things could start to improve mediation, hospitality, hotels, local pub, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy As we all know, December is generally one of the best months of the year for trade in the hospitality industry. People all have their office Christmas parties and over Christmas families go out drinking and eating and at new year, yes getting well oiled is definitely the order of the day.
8 January Hospitality industry set for major fall without help Hospitality is just going down and down mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy Now we have got a week into 2021, life has settled down and holidays and so forth are over, subject of course to the interesting diversion carrying on in Washington DC. How will that play out?
5 January Record new cases today at 60916. Is the Christmas factor starting to affect the figures? What is happening is completely predictable mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy Today has recorded a record number of new cases in the UK since the start of the pandemic at 60,916. Deaths are recorded at 830.
5 December As we see light at the end of the tunnel, society will start to re-evaluate itself. When we go outside and the real light dawns when the pandemic is over, we are in for a big shock. mediation, hospitality, Covid-19, community, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy Since the beginning of the restrictions and the first lockdown, huge amounts of things have changed in the economic field. Many businesses have suffered terribly by being closed, most especially the hospitality industry and of course some businesses have done very well and others have even prospered beyond belief because of Covid-19.
28 November You don’t go bust because of losses – you go bust because you run out of cash. Hospitality take note! Real care needs to be taken by businesses during this pandemic. mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy Businesses need decent professional advice during these perilous times of uncertainty.
6 November Hospitality businesses uncertain over future with new lockdown. It’s going to be quite a tough slog when things get back to normal; what can the industry do to help itself? mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, community, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy Now the new lockdown has started in England hospitality businesses find themselves with quite mixed feelings about the future and what to do.
5 November First arrests made for eat out to help out fraud. As if coronavirus were not serious enough, organised crime makes matters worse. Even the provision of benefits to get people through this difficult time are taken advantage of by criminals. mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy It is a sad fact that tax evasion is seen by many in our society as “fair game” and is the bane of probably most governments in the world.
16 October Anger increasing; differences widening. How do we come to a consensus? As the country closes down bit by bit, arguments rage on. How are they going to be resolved? mediation, hospitality, Covid-19, community, insolvency, bankruptcy Ever heard of the expression “ever decreasing circles”? Well if there were ever a time when that applied it is now. As if we did not have enough trouble fighting a hidden virus which is over-taking our society, people are now getting more and more angry and starting to argue. And what is it about? Not the virus really but money.
14 October Large drop in number of licensed premises Lots of places have not re-opened – perhaps never to open again. mediation, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, community, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy There are now 25000 fewer licensed premises open in the UK than there were before the pandemic. Prior to the lockdown, there were 115000 licensed premises but since the lockdown has been lifted only 90000 have re-opened.
14 September Possession proceedings for commercial premises – there are two sides to every story – and there could be quite a few sides Perhaps landlords and tenants should think about mediation before embarking on the litigation route to resolve their differences mediation, hotels, local pub, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy As the pandemic rolls on, the cries are getting louder for the government to extend the moratorium in respect of possession proceedings for commercial premises where rents are in arrears due to coronavirus. One hospitality business association is now saying that if the moratorium is not extended the government will face a “bloodbath” of business failures.
11 September Crystal balls sadly in short supply so is it time for serious scientific attempts to try and foresee the future? We can only plan for the future if we can make some pretty good guesses about how it could look. What will “new norm” be? mediation, hospitality, aviation, Covid-19, bankruptcy Who could have foreseen it all? Did anyone think that in 2020 the world would be brought to its knees by a pandemic? If anyone had suggested it, there would have been comments like “what do you know that we don’t?”.
10 September Financial pressures are going to start to build up, notably in hospitality The shock of battening down the hatches has not yet dawned mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, insolvency, bankruptcy The hospitality industry is likely to be facing increased financial pressure over the forthcoming weeks. The industry has found itself in a unique position having been more or less closed down in March. We are now beginning to see the premises which have not re-opened since the lockdown was relaxed and which are beginning to announce that they will not re-open, at least under the same ownership.
7 September The Phoenix rises – happily businesses can be rescued There will nearly always be a buyer – the question is how much mediation, hospitality, hotels, holidays, Covid-19, community, bankruptcy, travel News has now emerged that 40 of the hotels are to be reopened under a new banner – the phoenix rises. The properties will now come under management by Bespoke Hotels under a five year agreement.
1 September To discount or not to discount – that is the question Eating out always has been a caveat emptor issue but more so than ever at the moment! mediation, hospitality, hotels, local pub, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy The chancellor’s eat out to help out scheme is now closed. Considering the novelty of the idea when it was announced, it does appear to have been an incredible success with some restaurants saying they have never had a busier August than this one. The scheme has cost a great deal of money with well over 64 million meals being sold.
15 August Turnover based rents – could this be the way forward for the future in hospitality? Could it herald the difference between survival or insolvency? Whatever else Covid-19 has done, it has taught us significant lessons in relation to business matters. We need to be ready in case it happens again in the future mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy As things stand, a lease is not an asset – it is a liability other than in very limited circumstances. This fact has never been better known than it has during the pandemic lockdown. Businesses have had to close by government order but their rents continue to accrue and become due.
22 July Re-opening of hospitality has not been what was hoped for. The topic for our 100th news blog As we reach our 100th news blog wouldn’t it be nice if it was all just a dream? mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, community, insolvency, bankruptcy When “Super Saturday” came along, everyone was filled with hope that at long last normality was going to return but early reactions were that trade had not really been as good as had been hoped for.
8 July Unprecedented move - £10 a head towards your dinner Monday through Wednesday in August from generous chancellor The hospitality industry needs a shot in the arm and without doubt it has got it mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, accountancy advice, bankruptcy Today’s announcement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been eagerly awaited; many different organisations have made representations as to the sort of help they would like to see to get the economy back up and running again and now they have the result.
22 June Will your local pub re-open as a going concern? What if it doesn’t? Opening up again after the relaxation of the lockdown is very much a two sided exercise mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, community, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy Crunch time looks like being upon us in the next fortnight. Pub landlords will be now be assessing what they can and cannot achieve. Probably the public will think mainly in terms of what matters to them, things like will there be adequate space for social-distancing
18 June Business leases – a good asset – yes? How much rent would you pay for this hotel? If there is one area of business where you need your wits about you, it is undertaking any form of lease or tenancy. mediation, hotels, local pub, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy I never cease to amaze at people who think that when they have a business lease, they have an asset. Well, I am sorry to say that in the main they could not be further from the truth.
9 June More hotels going out of business or scaling down. Even the survivors are going to leave trails of redundancies. mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, insolvency, bankruptcy I mentioned some names you might not see again a while ago. Unfortunately new names are being added to the list all the time as end of furlough and social distancing bring business realities into focus.
7 June Zoos and safaris – just social distancing collateral damage while radical protestors get away with it? There seems to be a lack of rational thinking in the way social distancing is imposed. mediation, hospitality, Covid-19, insolvency, bankruptcy In a world where we have become more aware of the need to protect endangered species, our zoos have become really important centres which can do so much to assist in this endeavour. It is always encouraging to hear of the births of rare creatures in zoos and to know that animals that are endangered in the wild still have cousins in captivity – and captivity also means safety and protection.
5 June Redundancies set to follow as businesses decide how they will be able to operate post-lockdown Time is passing – start your planning as soon as possible. mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy Those who think that the lockdown was merely a temporary blip with everything going back to normal after it is over are in for a shock. Indeed they should already be braced for an enormous change.
4 June Biggest insolvency change for some years. Corporate Governance & Insolvency Bill passes all stages of the Commons. Get ready for moratoriums or “debtor in possession” mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy The new law heralds the most significant change in our insolvency regime for a number of years and could be particularly welcome following the effects of the pandemic on our economy.
3 June Restaurants and other hospitality businesses you may not see again Time is now sorting the wheat from the chaff. mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, community, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy As the days go by announcements appear telling us about restaurants and other businesses which will not be re-opening, some under their current management and some at all ever.
2 June At the end of all this, will your local pub be open? An update on how it is beginning to look. mediation, hospitality, hotels, Covid-19, local pub, community, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy As life moves on, the future of the licensed trade slowly unfurls and it continues to look as if the end product is not what you will want to see. What have we seen so far? Pubs and restaurants were ordered to shut with no notice whatsoever.
23 May Specialist Leisure Group goes into administration including some well-known names. Names like Shearings, National Holidays, Bay Holidays and many others included. mediation, hospitality, hotels, holidays, Covid-19, insolvency, bankruptcy On 22nd May the Specialist Leisure Group entered into administration. It was reported on television but certainly the impact of this collapse was not evident. One of its subsidiaries is Shearings the coach company and that broadly is all that was reported.
23 April I have paid a deposit for my daughter’s wedding reception. It’s safe – right? No obligation to hold deposits in ring-fenced accounts. mediation, hospitality, hotels, aviation, holidays, Covid-19, community, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy One of the worries which is emerging as a result of the lockdown is a complex area of business which many people find catches them out. That is the payment of advance deposits to make bookings and this is not just for wedding receptions but throughout modern life, and most notably with your deposits for package holidays and airline tickets.
20 April We have a mortgage moratorium; what about business rents? The big question is where will the buck stop? mediation, hospitality, hotels, local pub, insolvency, accountancy advice, bankruptcy Managing the cash crisis during the lockdown is certainly no easy task. Government funding to pay people’s wages and salaries, rates holidays, a moratorium to block commercial evictions and so forth are all welcome shots in the arm. However, what has not yet become protected is what will happen to businesses which cannot pay their rents.
3 April Coronavirus crisis hots up Financial benefits available but proving hard to come by; is there light at the end of the tunnel for the self employed? mediation, hospitality, Covid-19, accountancy advice, bankruptcy The Covid-19 crisis has definitely stepped up a few rungs now. A week or so ago the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a range of financial benefits to get the country through. I must admit I was quite astounded by the apparent generosity of the benefits, in particular offering businesses 80% of the salary bill to keep their staff on.