St Paul's firms feeling the strain as protesters stay put

26 October 2011 by
St Paul's firms feeling the strain as protesters stay put

Hospitality businesses near St Paul's in London are at risk of losing hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue due to the anti-capitalist protesters camped outside the cathedral blocking Paternoster Square.

The cathedral was forced to close last Friday (21 October) amid health and safety concerns as up to 300 protesters from Occupy London Stock Exchange (OccupyLSX) have camped there since 15 October. It is the first time the cathedral has closed since World War II.

The protesters from OccupyLSX - which highlights what it calls corporate greed and inequality - have refused a public request to leave, vowing to continue "indefinitely", while the City of London Corporation is considering taking legal action to evict them.

A cathedral spokesman said it was losing up to £20,000 a day in tourist revenue, while contract caterer Harbour & Jones, which operates a restaurant and café inside the cathedral as well as a local events catering business, said it could lose up to £250,000 in revenue should the protests carry on until Christmas.

Director Nathan Jones said local businesses were "innocent victims of the protest".

"Our weekly average net sales at St Paul's for the restaurant and café alone are £15,500 plus around £9,000 from the events business," he said.

Jones added that the company has around 30 employees at St Paul's, 90% of whom had been moved to other sites. "We have to try to implement as many damage limitation measures as possible. With three new openings we are able to deploy our staff elsewhere, otherwise their jobs would be at risk," he said.

Meanwhile D&D London's Paternoster Chop House has had its trade badly affected, according to manager Gerhard Jacobs. "We're about 40% down on revenue and it's impacting not just the restaurant but also our bar trade and corporate events business as people are reluctant to confirm events with all this going on," he said.

"There's just one entrance to the square and all our customers have to be escorted by a member of my team from there to the restaurant. There's lots of confusion and people are staying away as a result."

Jacobs added: "This whole situation is catastrophic not just for the many businesses inside Paternoster Square but also for London as a tourist destination, particularly in the run up to next year's Olympics as St Paul's is such an iconic landmark. Action needs to be taken to resolve this."

Frank Young, owner of Mexican restaurant Poncho No 8, which has an outlet on the edge of Paternoster Square, said the business had been marginally impacted. "We've seen a bit of a decline in business as people based on the other side of the square can't seem to be bothered to walk around it to get to us. But our deliveries are up so that's had an impact on our margins."

Meanwhile Yo! Sushi said its St Paul's outlet has not been affected. "Business in our St Paul's branch has been consistent; we haven't seen a change in sales in either direction as a result of the protests," said Luciano Gonzaga, the group's operations manager.

Sandwich store Pret A Manger and wine bar Corney and Barrow, which are located in Paternoster Square, declined to comment.

By Kerstin Kühn

E-mail your comments to Kerstin Kühn here.

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