Hospitality operators sceptical about 3 December reopening

20-Nov-2020 - Last updated on 27-Apr-2021 at 13:06 GMT

Hospitality operators across the country are sceptical that they will be allowed to reopen on 3 December, the current date set for the lifting of the second lockdown in England, according to a new survey.

Of a poll of 271 board level operators running pubs, restaurants and food to go operations conducted by Lumina Intelligence, less than 10% of operators said they were ‘very confident’ they will reopen that date.

A further 15% of operators asked are 'not at all' confident about the chances of their operation reopening in early December, although 33% are ‘fairly sure’ they will reopen once the restrictions are lifted.

The results come as it has been confirmed that the planned reopening of the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland has been delayed.

Businesses had expected to reopen on Friday 27 November but the 'circuit breaker' lockdown has been extended for another two weeks.

The industry also remains divided over the future of the sector, with just under a third (32%) of respondents believing they will be forced to close permanently if existing lockdown measures continue into the spring, while 30% were confident they could survive should things continue as they currently are. The remaining 38% said they were unsure.

Operators are also divided on how they regard the second lockdown, with 40% believing it to have been harder and 31% saying it had been easier, with 29% reporting no difference to the first lockdown in March.

Confidence has also taken a knock among business owners, with 62% of respondents confident about the future, down from 70% the previous week.

The weekly poll is conducted by Lumina Intelligence for BigHospitality, Restaurant, MCA, and The MA.