Hospitality firms plead for energy bill support to survive ‘dire’ situation worse than pandemic

An estimated 3 per cent of the workforce was signed off in late December and a fifth of businesses reported increased cancellations amid the surge in the Omicron coronavirus variant.

A host of hospitality and small business bodies yesterday warned that many pubs, restaurants and hotels will not survive the “onslaught” of higher energy costs in the coming months.

Representative bodies including UK Hospitality warned politicians that unlike domestic customers, rates are not capped for small businesses.

Last week analysts at forecaster Cornwall Insight suggested firms would see energy bills rocket by as much as five times come October.

The letter, co-signed by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and other industry representatives, warned the “stasis of party politics” could not be allowed to “stifle the urgent delivery of action on energy.”