A third of hospitality businesses could go bust by 2023

According to a recent survey, the cost-of-living crisis is putting a number of hospitality businesses in the UK at an imminent risk of going bust.

The survey findings revealed that 35 percent of respondents were expecting to be operating at a loss or be unviable by the end of 2022.

The survey was carried out by UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) and Hospitality Ulster and questioned 506 businesses including pubs, restaurants, bars and hotels.

A joint statement released by the trade associations claimed: “If urgent action isn’t taken, it is looking incredibly likely that we will lose a significant chunk of Britain’s iconic hospitality sector in the coming weeks and months.”

What’s more, the Bank of England (BoE) has since raised interest rates by 0.75 percent (the biggest hike since 1989), with the UK central bank forecasting a “very challenging” two year recession which is also likely to impact hospitality businesses across the UK.

Hospitality causes for concern

With 96 percent of respondents experiencing higher energy costs and 93 percent navigating food price inflation, the organisations’ joint Q4 Hospitality Sector survey has highlighted two main areas of concern for business owners.

However, customers are also feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, with 77 percent of operators seeing a decrease in people eating and drinking out and 85 percent predicting that this number will continue to decrease going forwards.

Doubt appears to be infiltrating the industry too, as 89 percent are either not confident or pessimistic that that the current levels of support offered by the government will protect the industry in the next six months.

“The results clearly lay out the stark situation facing hospitality businesses, with many on the brink due to the cost of doing business crisis,” the trade associations said in a joint statement.

With turbulent economic times ahead, it is likely to be challenging few months for the hospitality sector.