A group of businesspeople from hospitality and retail, led by BID Leamington’s CEO Stephanie Kerr and McDonald’s franchisee Dawood Ibtehsam, met at Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce to discuss the issues the sector is facing.
Steph and Dawood were joined by Matt Crowther, of Pug Pubs; Aaron Corsi, of Stratford BID; Darren Tosh, of Shakespeare’s England; Erwin Middel, of Baxter Storey; John Barrett, of CV One Nightclubs and Coventry BID; Gurdip Chatha, of Esque Beauty; and Lydia Papaphilippopoulos-Snape, of Warwick Street Kitchen.
Corin Crane, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, also contributed to the discussion after the group was formed on the back of the Chamber’s research for its Business Manifesto which will launch this year.
The discussion included everything from rising costs of business through to skills shortages and highlighted the significant contribution the sectors make to the regional and national economies.
The meeting heard how many businesses are struggling just to pay the bills and that closures and job losses are biting hard.
And, while a range of priorities for the sector were discussed – from business rates through to support in implementing the changes brought about by the Employment Rights Act – the group agreed to focus its efforts on championing the campaign to secure a VAT reduction for hospitality businesses.
Steph said: “We wanted to give businesses an opportunity to talk about the issues they are facing and that included just how hard it is to survive in the current economic climate.
“But it was really important that we emerged from the meeting with actions that we could put into place and the key for us is backing the ‘VAT’s The Problem’ campaign and we’re encouraging as many people as possible to support it to get the message over that businesses in this sector need help.
“It could make all the difference when it comes to a business surviving.”
Dawood added: “Costs and red tape have risen so much recently so it means a business such as a restaurant has to sell a lot more meals just to cover its overheads. It’s why so many businesses are struggling and it’s why we were so keen to take this action.
“We’re grateful to everyone who joined the discussion and to the Chamber of Commerce for hosting us.”
Corin said: “We undertook a huge amount of research for our Business Manifesto and one of the aims was to set up a business-led group that would look specifically at hospitality and retail.
“And, even though the manifesto hasn’t been published yet, we felt there was a real urgency in getting this group off the ground and when I heard the discussion, it was clear how acute the issues are.”
For more information and to back the campaign to reduce VAT for the hospitality sector go to https://www.vatstheproblem.co.uk/
For more information on the group, the Chamber’s manifesto and its Business Assembly, contact [email protected]
