Just a third of operators expect to reopen their entire portfolios

The number of hospitality venues in the UK looks set to fall sharply, with just over one third of operators (35%) believing they will eventually reopen all of their sites for trading.

A further third of operators told the latest Business Confidence Survey, conducted by CGA and Fourth, that they had yet to take a decision on closing sites.

There was an expectation among those questioned that the market would contract significantly with predictions that between 70% and 80% of restaurants, hotels, bars and late-night venues would open to serve guests once again.

The majority of closures are expected to be seen in late-night venues and restaurants, with hotels predicted to be most resilient.

On average operators expected to see 69% of late-night operations, 71% of restaurants, 77% of drink-led pubs, 79% of food-led pubs and 85% of hotels to remain in business.

Almost all operators are anticipating a phased reopening for hospitality dictated by government guidelines, with two-thirds believing it will take them less than two weeks to prepare their sites to open, including a third that think they could open the doors in under a week.

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