5 Tips for bouncing back with UK Hospitality

As the hospitality industry opens its doors for the first time this year, gunnercooke would like to wish everyone in the sector good luck. 

We are a proud partner of UK Hospitality, the leading trade association supporting hospitality businesses across the UK. 

In support of our clients and UK Hospitality members, our Partners have shared their top tips on how to resume business as usual and make the most impact with their comeback. 

Here are our five top tips:

• My client Charlie Gilkes, the Co-Founder of the Inception Group shared this advice with me: give them something they can’t get at home, whether it’s a product, a service, or an experience, and they’ll come back. (David Salamons, Corporate Partner)

• You may have informal agreements or no agreements with your landlord about the use of the premises e.g. serving alcohol outside, takeaways or temporary shelters. It’s likely rent payments haven’t been dealt with or are in arrears. So now it’s back to school, time to hold onto anything that’s worked for you over the last year, and tackle any issues with landlords, licensing authorities or lenders that may hold you back. (Catherine Payne, Commercial Real Estate Legal Counsel)

• Don’t forget to keep your company books and records up to date. The temporary extensions to filing deadlines at Companies House which came into effect last year came to an end in April this year. This means everything should be filed by the usual deadline. (Harriet Collins, Corporate & Commercial Legal Counsel)

• All businesses have their own dynamics so one size doesn’t fit all. However, this is applicable to all businesses – concentrate resources on making what sells, rather than selling what you make. (Jeremy Goldring, Restructuring & Insolvency Partner)

• Start talking and keep talking. Give staff time to adjust as they start socialising again. Some people may be nervous if they haven’t had a vaccination, so you need to reassure staff of the measures you’ve taken to keep them safe. If they are nervous about the jab, look into rapid flow tests. (Jonathan Golden, Employment Partner)

Remember – the comeback is always greater than the setback! 

If you require any legal support or advice around restarting business over the coming months, please do get in touch with our team.