Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

‘Save summer six’ ministers press for 22 June on-trade reopening

Published: 08 June, 2020

Boris Johnson is understood to be close to agreement with a group of senior ministers to look at reopening the hospitality sector on 22 June.

Food & accommodation sectors have largest proportion furloughed

Published: 05 June, 2020

The extent to which lockdown has impacted on the UK hospitality sector has been thrown into sharp relief by the latest ONS (Office for National Statistics) figures.

Night trade poses biggest barrier to reopening on-premise

Published: 22 May, 2020

Packed pubs, standing-only bars and heaving nightclubs pose the biggest challenge to getting the struggling on-trade back on its feet, the IWSR has suggested.

On-trade operators should plan ‘relaunch', not ‘reopening’, ahead of 4 July

Published: 21 May, 2020

On-trade operators should “step away from emotion”, challenging themselves to think back to when they started their businesses and consider it a relaunch, not a reopening, when they once again open their doors.

US on-trade reopening gives near-future glimpse of path ahead for UK

Published: 21 May, 2020

Reduced food and drink ranges, continued off-trade sales, ongoing food take-out, plus the need for support from suppliers to ‘optimise drinks assortments’ are among the main takeaways from a recent Nielsen CGA survey of the US restaurant and bar sectors.

Shift to home cooking poses further threat to the on-trade

Published: 13 May, 2020

More time to spend cooking and access to creative culinary content online could pose a major hurdle to a restaurant industry which is now preparing to get back on its feet.

Hospitality industry sizes up ‘Independence Day’ on 4 July

Published: 12 May, 2020

With a liberation day on the horizon for the sleeping hospitality industry, the sector is now asking the big questions about what the end of lockdown will look like.

Suppliers seek clarity over support

Published: 07 May, 2020

Key suppliers to the shuttered on-trade have called on the government to help them survive Covid-19, pointing both to clarification on reopening measures and greater financial support.

A third of on-trade senior executives anticipate permanent closure

Published: 06 May, 2020

A third (32%) of senior executives anticipate the need to permanently close pub, bar and restaurant sites post-Covid-19, according to the latest CGA Business Confidence Survey.

Securing a rent break key concern for hospitality

Published: 01 May, 2020

Securing a time out on rent has come out as a key priority for Britain’s pubs, bars and restaurants as cashflow concerns top their agendas.

Jascot’s pivots towards e-commerce amid Covid-19 angst

Published: 27 April, 2020

On-trade wine supplier Jascots has launched a full ecommerce site selling direct to consumers across the UK.

Joe Fattorini: Together we can change the world

Published: 27 April, 2020

“By May 1966, the plan to dam the Grand Canyon was all but enshrined in law. The bulldozers were already shattering the primordial peace, the scaffolding was up and the drilling had begun.” As one campaigner said: “The fight was lost. The dams had been approved. They were being supported by the Kennedy administration … and both houses of Congress.” His voice tinged with a despondency many of us have come to know in the past few weeks.

Research highlights flaws in level of Covid-19 government hospitality support

Published: 27 April, 2020

Research by UK Hospitality has highlighted flaws in the level of support provided to businesses during the Covid-19 crisis.

Extended social distancing could cost one million hospitality jobs

Published: 23 April, 2020

An extended period of social distancing could cost one million jobs unless measures to protect hospitality businesses are put in place, UK Hospitality (UKH) has warned.

Furlough extension welcomed, but WSTA ups call for duty deferment

Published: 20 April, 2020

The Wine & Spirits Trade Association (WSTA) on Friday welcomed government’s extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furloughing) to the end of June 2020, but pressed again for an acceleration of relief measures for businesses hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.

Government clarifies ‘lockdown’ on and off-trade measures

Published: 24 March, 2020

The government has clarified the measures required to be taken by both the on and off-trade following the announcement last night of a three-week nationwide UK ‘lockdown’.

Coronavirus: No plans to enforce on-trade closures

Published: 19 March, 2020

The Prime Minister has confirmed that there are no timelines or plans in place to enforce restaurants, bars or pubs to close as long as the advice given by the government is followed by the public.

Virtual Happy Hour leads on-trade support initiatives

Published: 19 March, 2020

A new ‘at home tasting’ initiative is looking to support the hospitality industry by encouraging the public to drink at home as if they were at their favourite bars and pubs.

Coronavirus: Supplier responses to the Chancellor’s support measures

Published: 18 March, 2020

As the extraordinary complexity of the current situation fully sinks in, Andrew Catchpole discovers how those supplying the on-trade have reacted to the Chancellor’s support measures for businesses.

Chancellor announces additional £20bn support for retail, hospitality and leisure sectors

Published: 17 March, 2020

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has increased promised government support for the hospitality sector, with a mix of tax cuts and grants, amounting to a £20bn support package, in addition to an overall support package of government backed and guaranteed loans available to business of £330bn.