British Beer & Pub Association welcomes “lifeline” business grants
The trade association describes the grants - worth £227m to UK pubs – as “much-needed support” despite it being described by fellow trade body UKHospitality as not even being enough to cover the costs of many struggling businesses.
Addressing the grant announcement, BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin says it is the “lifeline we have been campaigning for to save our pubs and help them survive through to the spring”.
It is now urging the Government to deliver its new grants to businesses immediately. It is also calling on the Government to provide the same levels of grant support to brewers.
“Without this support, pubs across England were at real risk of being lost for good at the beginning of this year,” says McClarkin. “We had been anticipating permanent closures in the very short term without it.
“Given that the future of so many pubs hang by a thread, it is essential that the Government deliver these grants to pub businesses immediately. If the grants take weeks or months to get to the pubs they are meant for, it will be too late.
“We stand ready to work with Government and Local Authorities to ensure the grants are delivered at pace. We also need confirmation from Government that the new State Aid rules will allow businesses access to these grants.
“The grants will mean many pubs may now be able make it through until spring. The Government now must also provide the same levels of support to brewers who have suffered months of closure of a major trading channel in pubs, but are not eligible for the support announced today.”
While UKHospitality has also welcomed the new funding, its chief executive Kate Nicholls has described the scheme as being “only a sticking plaster for immediate ills” within the sector.
“It is not enough to even cover the costs of many businesses and certainly will not underpin longer-term business viability for our sector,” she says.
McClarkin is also calling on the Government to share its plans to help the pub sector recover when it can reopen and is asking for an extension to the Business Rates holiday and VAT cut along with a beer duty cut.
