Pubs and restaurants are being decimated by Covid uncertainty

The run up to Christmas is normally a merry time for the hospitality industry. Our nation’s restaurants, pubs and bars are usually bursting at the seams. Most people are out celebrating with their family, friends and colleagues – with crackers being pulled, pigs in blankets served and a glass or two of mulled wine drunk under the mistletoe.

Yet, the exact opposite is happening right now for the hospitality industry in the UK. Instead it’s the nightmare before Christmas. Ever since people in Britain have been told to work from home by the government and told to cut back on socialising by chief medical officer Chris Whitty, pubs and restaurants have been clobbered. Corporate parties have been completely cancelled, restaurant reservations have fallen off a cliff and after work drinks in the pubs have dried up.

The fact that Christmas was cancelled for most people last year means nobody is taking any chances this time – people are clearing out their social diaries and deciding to hunker down at home early to save Christmas.