Third of London restaurants worried they can’t afford energy bills, new data reveals
A third of London restaurants are concerned they may be unable to pay their bills if energy prices keep rising, according to a new study by Uswitch for Business.
In the capital, restaurants are currently operating at an average capacity of 54 per cent – six per cent lower than the UK average – with one in four restaurants saying this is down from last year.
UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls, commented: “These findings chime with what we’re seeing across hospitality. Venues of all types are having to curtail their trading hours and increase prices due to enormous energy costs, which will only get worse when support is significantly reduced in April”.
Dosh, who runs a Turkish restaurant in Cockfosters, London, has experienced this first-hand. He has recently had to raise his prices due to escalating electricity and energy bills, although he dislikes doing it because it means customers stop coming.
“This trade which is normally quite a profitable one suddenly becomes unprofitable,” he said. “As energy prices go up, our lives go down”.
He added that the stressful industry sometimes gets to the point where “it’s not worth doing”.
“I just hope things get better,” he added.
Nicholls said UKHospitality is calling on the chancellor to intervene in the Spring Budget to “tackle the outlandish behaviour of energy suppliers hiking prices for the sector”.
“Without action from the government, we will lose hundreds of good businesses due to factors outside their control,” she added.
The new figures from the comparison site also show that roughly a third of a customer’s restaurant bill goes towards energy costs, leading businesses to offer smaller portions and swap dishes for ones that use less energy to serve.
Jack Arthur, energy expert at Uswitch, said energy costs are also being exacerbated by inflation, while “rates of restaurant insolvency have increased since COVID-19 and price rises from Brexit are pushing firms to a worrying edge.”
Other worries for restaurants include sky high rent prices and customer retention issues.