More than 18,000 pubs reopened on 4 July

The figure, which roughly equates to 45% of all pubs and bars in the country, 'reflects the phased reopening that many businesses in the sector have been planning for' according to CGA's director of food & retail Karl Chessell.

"We know more will be opening their doors during the coming week, and the market as a whole will be learning from the successes and occasional teething problems of their colleagues over the last couple of days to ensure the public can safely enjoy the pub and bar experience in the weeks to come,” he says.

CGA adds that the figure provides a baseline from which it will continue to track the recovery of the sector.

July 4, which had been dubbed 'Super Saturday' by some​​, was the first day pubs, restaurants and bars in England were allowed to open their doors since the Government-mandated shutdown of the industry back in March.

Data collected prior to reopening by CGA and Fourth suggested that, on the whole, hospitality operators were taking a cautious approach to reopening​​, with just 59% of businesses saying they planned to reopen some of their sites on 4 July.

One group that did reopen the entirety of its estate was the Rick Stein Restaurant Group, which operates its flagship The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow as well as restaurants in Barnes, Sandbanks, Winchester, and Falmouth; and a collection of cafes, pubs and fish and chip shops in Cornwall.

According to the group, 5046 guests dined in its restaurants over the course of the weekend.

“It was such a buzz being back in the kitchen this weekend," says chef director Jack Stein.

"We’re really happy with how it went, our customers all respected social distancing and were clearly as happy to be back as we were. 

"Safety was our number one priority and our new measures, from one way systems and table spacing to adding new fully sterilised and sealed cutlery pouches to every table, proved to be a great success."