High Street giants fearful over early exit from Covid-19 lockdown

While some construction companies and factories appear keen to get back up and running, those facing consumers remain severely concerned.

George Weston, chief executive of Primark owner Associated British Foods today said he would “love to reopen” but added: “I know that we must not do so until we have suppressed this disease.”

He warned that it was more important to get the start date right and stick with it to enable stores to be geared up with adequate protective equipment to safeguard staff and customers.

Hospitality industry chiefs warned that the costs of reopening their businesses too early, then having to close them again would be “disastrous”.

Clive Watson, chairman of the City Pub Group, estimated it will cost his firm up to around £30,000 per site re-opening, covering restocking, staff and cleaning.

Watson said it “would be massively disruptive to reopen and then close”. He added: “Best for sector and country would be to reopen gently.” He suggests pubs each opening initially at 60% capacity. That could be increased if things feel more upbeat or reduced if there are concerns.

Simon Emeny at pub-restaurants giant Fuller’s said: “It is essential that pubs reopen at the right time. There would be nothing worse than opening, seeing the virus spread, and having another enforced closure period. A bustling pub is unlikely to be a natural environment for social distancing, but for pubs to remain closed, the industry and its employees will need further financial assistance from the Government.”

YO! Sushi’s chief executive Richard Hodgson said: “We certainly do not want any false dawns as re-opening and then having to close again would be a disaster for most, if not all, of our sector.”

Greene King’s chief executive Nick Mackenzie said: “We want to welcome back customers to our pubs as soon as it is safe to do so, but the impact on our 38,000 people is our primary concern and we want to make sure we time it right and avoid a false start by going too early.”

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “Of course we want our great British pubs to reopen, but we want them to do so when they have the best chance of sustainable trade to recover and that means under the right conditions. Confidence to open for our staff and our consumers is key.”

Kate Nicholls at trade body UKHospitality said: “While closing down our pubs and restaurants happened overnight, standing them back up will be far from as quick and as easy a decision.”

Some in Government believe building sites, some factories and other outdoor industries should resume first.

One of the country’s biggest brickmakers, Michelmersh, today said it was reopening its factories after a three-week shutdown, while Aston Martin yesterday said that it was keen to resume manufacturing at its plant at Gaydon and St Athan sites.