Friday Five: The week's top news
- Around 60% of the UK’s hospitality sector will reopen on or within a few days of 4 July, according to a new survey by trade body UKHospitality. According to the research, 960,000 staff are expected to go back to work from furlough over the course of July, with a further 720,000 returning by the end of September. However, the survey, which received responses from the operators of more than 15,000 venues, also reveals that around 320,000 redundancies are expected to be made in the coming months. What's more, the figures suggest that, between July and September, a significantly higher number of part-time workers will return over full-time employees.
- More than 44,000 people have made a restaurant booking on online reservation platform Quandoo since the Government announced hospitality businesses in England could reopen on 4 July, with almost half made for ‘Super Saturday’. More than a third (35%) of the bookings were made during the first 24 hours of the Government’s announcement, says Quandoo. While Londoners initially behaved more cautiously, almost a third of all bookings (30%) are now in the capital, filling 13,000 seats.
- Nathan Outlaw has permanently closed his flagship, two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Port Isaac, Cornwall, saying he will redesign the space and open 'an altogether new offering' called Outlaw’s New Road. Set to open in July, following the lifting of the Government-mandated shutdown of the hospitality sector, the restaurant's concept will continue to focus on seafood, albeit served in a 'more inclusive and accessible' setting. Outlaw tells BigHospitality that the decision to change his flagship restaurant has been at the back of his mind for a couple of years, describing it as a personal choice that feels like the weight of the world being lifted off of his shoulders.
- Castle Terrace, the Edinburgh restaurant opened 10 years ago by chefs Dominic Jack and Tom Kitchin, has announced that it will not reopen post-Coronavirus lockdown. A statement written by Jack and posted on the restaurant's Instagram page reads: "Sadly today, we have made the unavoidable decision to permanently close Castle Terrace. "The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, along with the current guidelines, and no upcoming tourist trade in Edinburgh mean it is no longer financially viable for us to continue to operate. It is heart-breaking to close the doors after 10 successful years and it is not a decision we have made lightly. "I want to personally thank all our loyal guests and visitors over the years, and for the special memories Castle Terrace has given me and my team. It’s a really sad day."
- The Restaurant Group (TRG) is poised to close 125 sites within its struggling leisure arm following the approval of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). At a meeting held earlier this week, more than 82% of all creditors voted in favour of the proposal; while 65% of the unconnected creditors voted in favour of the proposal. In accordance with the relevant statutory provisions, there is a 28-day period, following the filing of the report by the chair of the meeting, in which a creditor may apply to court to challenge the CVA.
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