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The hospitality and leisure industry has been one of the worst affected sectors in the UK due to the pandemic. However, lockdown restrictions eased further on Monday for restaurants, cafes and bars allowing indoor dining. It is expected to provide some relief to the sector. According to the new rules, groups of six people or two households can be seated indoors at venues, allowing the sector to reopen and start trading after almost four and a half months of being shut. Last week, IGD’s Shopper’s Confidence Index rose to its highest level in five years, touching -1 in April 2021 since 2016.
The index had earlier reported confidence levels of -11 in April last year. Moreover, concerns over an Indian variant of the coronavirus weighed on the market sentiments, as companies are worried that the UK government could impose newer restrictions due to smaller outbreaks. For instance, popular UK based pub and beer chain Wetherspoons PLC (LON:JDW) shares were trading at GBX 1,324.00, down by 2.07 per cent after reopening indoor operations today.
The UK’s third lockdown restrictions are scheduled to be completely lifted by June this year. According to the industry body, UK Hospitality, 60 per cent of companies in the sector were unable to reopen in the second phase of easing of restrictions due to a lack of outdoor spaces.
