Millions of Britons will spend more than £300million next week when pub beer gardens and restaurant terraces open from Monday (but three fifths of UK’s 40,000 pubs will remain shut)
- Millions of Britons expected to spend more than £300million next week
- Predicted spending is still less than average per week in pre-lockdown UK
- Three-fifths of 40,000 pubs will stay shut as they do not have outdoor space
Millions of Britons are expected to spend more than £300million next week when pub beer gardens and restaurant terraces open from Monday.
The figures will provide cheer for a sector that has been ravaged by a year of lockdowns.
But the predicted spending of £314million is still less than the average £663million a week that goes on eating and drinking out, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
Three fifths of the nation’s 40,000 pubs will stay shut because they do not have enough outdoor space and most of those that do open will lose money, according to the British Beer & Pub Association.
Friends from Bromley enjoy the vibe at Camden Town Brewerys pop-up beer garden on July 4, 2020 in London, United Kingdom
Customers eat sunday lunches at tables outside restaurants in Soho, in London on September 20, 2020
It is not until May 17 that indoor hospitality is allowed to resume.
A quarter of adults plan to visit a pub next week and a tenth said they would head down on Monday, according to a money.co.uk survey.
The hospitality industry has spent more than £1billion on social distancing measures, such as screens, and outdoor kit including tents and heaters.
The key Easter bank holiday has already passed, starving pubs of £325million of drinks sales over the four-day weekend.
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