Urgent Government Support For The Hospitality Industry

Urgent Government Support For The Hospitality Industry

Started
23 April 2020
Signatures: 13,847Next Goal: 15,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by Martin Greenhow

Presently hospitality businesses across the UK are in free fall. Whilst the initiatives already established by HM Government are needed and welcomed, they do not provide all the support that is so desperately needed for our sector to survive. Indeed, should the mandatory and understandable closure of our businesses continue for much longer as now seems likely it is questionable whether the effort to establish the current measures was even worthwhile.


As explained in the Hospitality Union’s proposal we require a breathing space from rental payments until we can become operational entities once again. The proposal from the Hospitality Union provides a framework to do that whilst not ignoring the fact that we do not exist in isolation and we understand that our landlords have covenants which they must satisfy as indeed their lenders require to balance their books. Government intervention is required here to protect all these levels, without it everything could collapse like a house of cards.


Who are we?


We are the bar and restaurant owners of the North of England but our plea is one for assistance for the national hospitality sector. On the whole, we are not huge national or international companies but in the north alone we employ thousands of people, across the country millions are employed in hospitality. We are limited companies, partnerships and family firms nurtured sometimes over decades or generations with love at the cost of blood, sweat and considerable tears in the quest to build our dreams.


Those dreams now hang in ragged tatters. Torn by the storm which is Covid 19. We blame no one for it but we had no way to prepare for it or mitigate against it. Even those of us who had infectious disease insurance are having their claims stone walled by insurers.


Without assistance we simply cannot survive on our own.


As people who have fought and grafted for years to build our businesses, begging for help does not come easily.


Yet here we are on bended knee.


We ask you adopt the #NationalTimeOut framework urgently so that lenders can support landlords who can in turn support operators.


If not the social fabric of our country will never be the same again.


Please remember where you met your loved one, where you laughed, where you sang, danced, ate and drank.


We built our dreams so they could be the back drop of your golden memories.


Please help us to be there for your future memory building.


Please help us by rallying to our cause for a #NationalTimeOut.


Sign this petition. Contact your MP.

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Signatures: 13,847Next Goal: 15,000
Support now
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