Long road to recovery for sector and economy, says hospitality boss

Lawrence Barton, owner of a string of bars and nightclubs in Central Birmingham, including The Loft and The Village Inn, was encouraged by both the level of trade and the behaviour of people in conforming to social distancing guidelines on the first day of reopening.

“Despite the tough trading conditions hospitality venues like mine are having to face as a result of coronavirus, I was deeply encouraged by the level of trade received given the strict, but necessary social distancing requirements.

“In spite of restrictions on customer numbers, volume of music, social distancing and a strict no bar service, one of our venues had takings that were in line with those of an average Saturday pre-lockdown. Meanwhile, despite takings at The Village Inn being 55 per cent down on pre-lockdown levels, these were in line with our forecasts."