Editor’s Comment: Insolvencies Fall But Concerns Remain
By Peter Adams, Editor, CLH News.
Some more positive news to share – hospitality insolvencies have fallen, and we really could do with some good news. However, as our lead story indicates, deep concerns still remain within our sector.
These concerns have clearly resonated beyond our industry, motivating 50 MPs to write a letter to the Chancellor highlighting the vital importance of hospitality – not only to the economy but to the wider community. It’s encouraging to see parliamentarians recognising what we’ve always known: our sector is the beating heart of British social and economic life.
Yet the government’s response raises serious questions. From April 2026, they’re introducing a new business rates system that shifts the burden from small to large hospitality operators. Smaller properties will benefit from lower rates, whilst those with a rateable value over £500,000 will face a higher multiplier.
Combined with the 40% relief for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses in 2025/26 (capped at £110,000 per business), this appears, on the surface, to be helping the sector.
Of course, smaller operators – and I was one myself back in the day – would welcome any change that lowers their rates. But at what cost?
The uncomfortable truth is that this amounts to little more than “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” Larger hospitality businesses are already warning of significant cost increases from this policy.
When you add escalating energy bills, food costs, and wage pressures into the mix, the only lever left for these businesses to pull is staffing. Job losses and reduced hours seem inevitable as larger firms struggle to remain sustainable under this mounting financial pressure.
Our sector doesn’t need divisive policies that pit small against large. We need widespread, genuine support that recognises hospitality as an interconnected ecosystem where the success of one part depends on the health of the whole.
Clearly, the Chancellor’s fellow MPs – many on her own benches – see that. The question is: will she listen?
On a brighter note, I’m delighted to share news of the Pringles initiative this autumn. They’ve teamed up with Movember to turn pubs into safe spaces for meaningful conversations about men’s mental wellbeing, making important mental health resources more accessible in the places where many men socialise.
This initiative couldn’t be more timely. Hospitality workers face significant mental health challenges – high rates of stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout driven by long and irregular hours, demanding customer interactions, low pay, and the struggle to maintain any semblance of work-life balance, I know, on this I truly have “walked the walk”!
These pressures lead to poor job satisfaction and can push employees toward unhealthy coping mechanisms, including self-medication through alcohol.
Please watch out for coming issues where we’ll be sharing insight and guidance from industry experts on this crucial topic. Looking after our people has never been more important – they are, after all, the very soul of hospitality.
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