Eat Out Help Out
As an agency with many clients in the hospitality industry, as well as keen and passionate food lovers ourselves, we are thrilled to hear that the Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the new “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme, which is a discount voucher programme designed for consumers in Britain to encourage people to eat out. The vouchers will give households a 50% reduction, up to £10 per head, on sit-down meals and non-alcoholic drinks in restaurants and cafes through August, from Monday-Wednesday.
The voucher is the first of its kind in the UK, and we can agree it’s a great incentive to get people out and dining again. The scheme is expected to boost the UK’s £130bn hospitality industry, which is the country’s third largest employer and represents 9% of all the country’s jobs. This summer stimulus is surely going to reignite many of those chilled ovens of the hospitality industry, and we cannot be happier.
VAT Cut
Today, it was also announced that VAT for all hospitality and tourism businesses would be slashed from 20% to 5% until 12 January – another great step towards helping the industry back on its feet, and incentivise people to revisit restaurants and stimulate money and demand, which in turn will increase footfall on the streets and simultaneously support other sectors, such as retail.
The hospitality industry has faced an uncertain future since the start of lockdown, and although ‘Super Saturday’ saw many people back in bars and restaurants across the country, many businesses are still operating with reduced covers and experiencing a loss in footfall. Which is why this scheme is warmly welcomed by so many directly and indirectly affected. We are certainly looking forward to visiting all of our client venues, and exploring new ones on the horizon in the coming weeks and months!