UKHospitality, the leading trade body for the UK’s hospitality sector, has launched a new Supplier Alliance to push for Government support to help hospitality supplier businesses.
The Supplier Alliance will provide a voice for those businesses within the hospitality sector that have been hit just as hard as venues by the COVID-19 crisis.
The group, which draws on UKH’s extensive supplier membership base alongside non-members,will push for Government support for suppliers in line with operators. This will ensure any ongoing measures in support of hospitality includes the entire business network.
These businesses are intrinsic to the functioning of the hospitality sector, will be critical to a successful restart and, will face severe hardship should government support be discontinued while the hospitality sector is still in the early stages of reopening.
The Supplier Alliance has been launched simultaneously with a survey to suppliers to ascertain the scale of the crisis facing supplier businesses and the urgent need for support. The results, once anonymised and collated, will be used to build and strengthen the case for Government support.
UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “The effect of the COVID-19 crisis has been acutely felt by hospitality businesses,and the impact is felt right across the sector. There are many associated businesses which rely on the sector for their livelihood and these have been hammered just as hard.
“Supplier businesses within hospitality are just as wide-ranging, varied and dynamic as the venues themselves. Our sector supports businesses as disparate as EPOS companies, licensing solicitors or even linen specialists. The shutdown of the hospitality sector has meant that all these businesses have been forced into hibernation as well.
“The Government has recognised the damage that pubs, restaurants, hotels, bars and nightclubs have suffered and have acted quickly and decisively to provide support and save jobs. There aremany businesses integral to the hospitality sector, facing the same existential crisis and they need the Government’s support now.”
