Cheers all round as Yorkshire pubs make a comeback

CONSUMER-FACING industries, particularly pubs and restaurants are getting a well-deserved renaissance according to insolvency trade body R3.

The hospitality industry in Yorkshire and the Humber has seen signs of recovery this month, with the proportion of pubs at ‘higher than normal’ risk of insolvency falling 1.4% on last month.

Restaurants experienced a decrease in risk of 1.6% but saw challenges in the first quarter of the year which meant that 40% of the region’s restaurants were deemed to be at higher than normal risk in April. Now, just 533 of the 2,853 restaurant businesses in the region are considered under threat in this way.

Now the region is performing ahead of the national average, well above London, Scotland, the West Midlands and the East of England.

Other sectors in Yorkshire & the Humber have been showing a “slow but steady” recovery over the past six months, but pubs were among the few that remained at higher risk of insolvency.

In June, 673 of the 1,749 active pub businesses in the region were at a higher risk than normal.

Despite this upturn in the fortunes of Yorkshire’s pubs, the region is still among the worst-performing sectors in the UK along with the North West and the South East, and coming in at 4% higher risk than the national average of 34.5%.

William Ballmann, chair of R3 in Yorkshire and partner at Gateley PLC said: “With the uncertainty of the General Election behind us and fears of a hung parliament put to rest, consumers are feeling more optimistic about their future prospects and that confidence is starting to translate into increased discretionary spending.

“It is good to see that people are feeling able to indulge themselves a little, and great news for pubs and restaurants which have continued to face tough times.

“Despite uncertainties in the eurozone around the Greek crisis, people are generally feeling more positive about the UK economy, helped, of course, by some decent summer weather – even here in Yorkshire!”

 

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