Center Parcs and Adnams among hospitality businesses withdrawing from CBI

A stream of hospitality businesses have confirmed the withdrawal or suspension of their membership of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) after the organisation faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by senior figures.

Center Parcs, Adnams, Unilever, and Diageo are among over 80 businesses that have left or paused engagement with the CBI over the past week.

It comes after the Guardian reported that there had been two allegations of rape at the CBI, as well as numerous claims of sexual assault, drug-taking and coercive behaviour from senior male figures at the firm.

A spokesperson for Center Parcs confirmed the holiday village operator had withdrawn its membership “with immediate effect” due to the “very serious allegations that have been made against the CBI”.

Andy Wood, chief executive of Adnams, said that it had become “unsustainable” for the brewer to remain a member of the business lobby group.

He added: “It is crystal clear the CBI has some engrained cultural and behavioural issues to deal with.”

Unilever, parent company of Unilever Food Solutions and Knorr, has also suspended its membership “due to the very serious and ongoing allegations”.

Industry trade associations were also involved in the walk-out. UKHospitality has “paused its engagement with the CBI, pending the conclusion of ongoing investigations”, while the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) tweeted its decision to “terminate our membership with the CBI with immediate effect”.

Meanwhile, several supermarket retailers, including Sainsbury’s, Asda, Tesco and M&S, have paused activities with the CBI.

Last Friday (21 April), the CBI board said it was suspending all policy and membership activities until an extraordinary general meeting in June.

The group said in a statement: “The CBI shares the shock and revulsion at the events that have taken place in our organisation, and at past failures that allowed these events to happen. We are deeply sorry and express our profound regret to the women who have endured these horrific experiences.

It added: “At the EGM we will put forward proposals for a refocused CBI to our membership for them to decide on the future role and purpose of the organisation. This work and the cultural reform will be the entire and urgent focus of the organisation over the coming weeks.”