London’s £500m shot in the arm: Capital set for spending surge as restaurants and pubs reopen on April 12

Hospitality and retail businesses are bracing for an invasion of happy diners, drinkers and shoppers when restrictions ease on Monday
Coronavirus - Sat Oct 17, 2020
The capital’s battered hospitality and retail sectors are readying themselves for an invasion of relieved diners, drinkers and shoppers
PA

London is set for a revitalising £500 million spending surge next week as restaurants, pubs and stores finally reopen after more than three months of lockdown.

The capital’s battered hospitality and retail sectors are readying themselves for an invasion of relieved diners, drinkers and shoppers on Monday — dubbed the Glorious 12th — as virus restrictions start to be lifted.

Simon French, chief economist at City brokers Panmure Gordon, said extra spending in the first week alone could be worth half a billion pounds.

Over the course of the second quarter of this year, covering April, May and June, London’s economy is expected to grow by around £6 billion as lockdown is lifted under the Government’s roadmap.

Mr French said: “Whilst this will still leave the London economy £7 billion smaller than during the quarter before the pandemic struck, this is an important step on the road to recovery. But for the long-term health of the London economy it is important that shoppers and office workers feel safe as they return. This will be the single biggest factor in unlocking wallets and purses.”

Central London restaurants and bars have reported “overwhelming” levels of bookings for outdoor tables from Monday.

Indoor dining and drinking is allowed from May 17. Richard Corrigan, the Michelin-starred chef behind high-end seafood destination Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill, which has sites in Mayfair and inside Harrods, is fully booked for the coming weeks.

He hopes this is “the final reopening”, and said: “I don’t expect things to go back to full normality until 2022, and while I’m so extremely relieved and grateful that we are opening next week and busy, London needs tourists to keep our restaurants going.”

Shoreditch restaurant Brat at Climpson’s Arch is fully booked for the first few weeks of its alfresco reopening, apart from the odd 9.45pm drinks slot.

Its award-winning head chef, Tomos Parry, told of the “excitement” of reopening and how it was “incredible for our staff to know that there is so much demand for people to come back”.

West End stores are also hoping for footfall to return to around 40 per cent of normal from Monday after months when the heart of the capital resembled a ghost town.

BRITAIN-HEALTH-VIRUS-RETAIL
Customers sit outside re-opened bars in Soho
AFP via Getty Images

Business groups the New West End Company, which represents traders in and around Oxford Street, Regent Street, Bond Street and in Mayfair, and the Brompton Road Partnership, which represents traders in Knightsbridge, have asked Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to extend Sunday trading hours in central London to boost sales and help shoppers stagger their trips.

They believe the move could generate more than £290 million a year and support an estimated 2,000 future jobs.

Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of the New West End Company, said: “We need to recognise that the ways in which people want to shop has changed. Greater flexibility on Sundays is vital to attract customers back into the capital.” London minister Paul Scully urged people to support local businesses but to do so responsibly to avoid the risk of the easing of restrictions having to be slammed into reverse.

“So many people have been thinking about that first visit... getting a new summer wardrobe, sipping that first pint, breaking a sweat in the gym or getting their hair back under control,” he said. “Whatever it is it’s so important to support our local businesses who have worked so hard to survive.”

Rachael Robathan, leader of Westminster council, said: “It’s important we take these initial steps back to normality safely, so we will be working with businesses to manage queues and pointing people to information on when public transport is quieter.”

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