Independent Business Network reveals £35 billion strategy to save hospitality

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

A leading business group today called on the Chancellor to deliver a radical £35billion package of measures to help save 500.000 jobs and save Britain's ailing pubs, restaurants and local high streets from being 'oblivion' after successive closures and a decline.

Independent Business Network (IBN) is the most recent company to apply for financial assistance to provide pub and restaurant services in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic.

A key priority, the report's creators argue, is to introduce a discount for safety gear that pubs and restaurants typically buy en masse.

The report argues that the fate of catering industry is most often closely linked to the future of Britain's high streets.

IBN argues that in many instances, this investment was based on the government's announcement at the beginning of the initial closure period that once the virus had been contained, the hospitality business would be reopened.

The report also called for the freezing of parking charges between 2020 and 2021, reinstating and extending the 'eat-out-to-help-out' programme to alcoholic drink sales.

A large retail presence on the high streets of the UK is improving the presence of the hospitality industry, while the availability of pubs and restaurants encourages customers to embark on retail sales.