Sky-high energy prices are now the main reason for hospitality closures, according to Manchester’s night time tsar Sacha Lord.
The Warehouse Project founder and night time economy adviser has recently taken to Twitter to call on the government to do more to support businesses – stating that the energy companies are ‘cashing in on hospitality’s demise’.
Adding that the big energy companies ‘are bankrupting businesses and forcing people into unemployment’, he pointed to numerous business closures in Greater Manchester before adding that energy regulator Ofgem has ‘a lot to answer for’.
It has undoubtedly been a hard few years for the city’s hospitality operators, with large numbers closing their doors for good in 2022 and more following suit this year already.
Between rocketing energy bills and food costs, record inflation and the largest squeeze on living standards in 40 years, many operators have found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place.
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Recent notable hospitality closures have included vegan junk food pioneers Zad’s and V Rev, Vertigo, Chorlton neighbourhood favourite The Creameries, city centre institution Cafe Metro, decades-old pizza restaurant Croma and cheap cocktail favourite Font, but sadly the list goes on and on.
Energy is now the main reason for Hospitality closures.
The Government need to step in and make the energy giants release operators from untenable contracts, because it’s clear @ofgem won’t.
Yet, whilst Manchester’s bars and restaurants are closing at pace, energy companies are announcing record profits with Shell reporting record earnings of £32.2bn in 2022 – double the previous year’s total and the highest in the company’s 115 year history.
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This has led for many to call for the increase in the energy price cap due in April to be scrapped, with opposition parties claiming that the government is letting firms ‘off the hook’.
Meanwhile, many local restaurants are directly citing the energy crisis as their reason for closing their doors.
Announcing its closure last year, popular vegan eatery Vertigo shared on social media that it had been forced to permanently shut all three of its sites: laying the blame at the door of ‘significantly increased costs’ that have made it difficult for the business to continue to operate.
Specifically referring to an increase in utility bills, the team said it was with ‘a heavy heart’ they had to announce that ‘Vertigo is no more’.
Elsewhere, last summer The Lowry theatre warned of a ‘major challenge’ over fears energy costs could triple to £1m this winter, stating that: “The government needs to extend the energy cap to business as well as households.”
Meanwhile, The Old Siege House Bar and Brasserie in Colchester revealed that it “had no choice but to sign a new contract in October in order to access government help”, adding that its bills went up “from 2p a unit on gas to 12p and 12p electric to 44p ! Now tied in for 4 years! Not sure how long we can sustain these prices!”
According to analysis by Shakespeare Martineau, the food and drink industry accounted for 6% of administrations in 2022 – the sixth-highest sector in the UK.
A total of 1,340 businesses – 87 of which came from the food and drink industry, which included several breweries and restaurant chains – filed for administration last year, marking a 56% increase compared to 2021.
Recession fears and the financial pressure on households and businesses mean the worst is still yet to come, an insolvency and restructuring expert has warned.
Andy Taylor, partner and head of restructuring at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “The latest statistics show that the true costs of living and doing business are beginning to bite.
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“Numerous headwinds – such as the cost of borrowing, and increasing energy, fuel and raw material costs – have become a new normal at this point and businesses are being pulled from every direction. Furthermore, while supportive in the main, pressure from lenders is increasing and HMRC is taking a firmer stance, seeking to cap levels of liability for non-payment of tax.
Adding that the UK is ‘perilously close to recessional phase,’ he continued: “If things continue as they are, we expect to see an increase in businesses failures as they battle tough trading conditions.”
Feature image –The Manc Group
Eats
First Look: Fitzpatrick’s – Stockport’s new Irish Bar gets off to a stunning start
Danny Jones
Stockport has a brand new Irish bar as the growing Greater Manchester trend continues, with Fitzpatrick’s officially debuting to the public on Thursday, 19 June.
Taking over the former Bask site just outside the train station, Fitzpatrick’s is the borough’s answer to American sports bar meets an Irish pub and grill, with live music, a wide array of food and more.
We had the privilege of walking in on opening day, and the place was absolutely packed to the rafters from the off, and we didn’t even stay until the end. More fool us…
We had a grand auld time seeing @fitzstockport open their doors yesterday evening. ☘️
As you can see, it hasn’t taken them any time at all to get an atmosphere going; good weather on their inaugural day, but the free-flowing beer, classic pub food flying out of the kitchen, and musicians reeling off classic Irish folk music did most of the heavy lifting.
Plus, that beer garden and covered outdoor terrace area are pretty perfect in any weather, to be fair.
The scran on their maiden evening mainly consisted of pizza, chips and other easy-to-serve-up plates as they gradually ease into the first week or so of service, but with a full menu of burgers, pies, breakfasts and even Sunday roasts to come, we’re very excited to try the full gamut.
Regardless, the staff were pulling pints like pros, John himself had plenty of involvement greeting people and getting behind the bar, and the atmosphere was buzzing from minute one.
ln fact, that was arguably the best part about it all: there was that genuine feeling of a new community cornerstone being born, with the well-known Stopfordian reeling off names and recognising what seemed like almost every face that walked through the door.
You don’t get that everywhere.
A lay of the land at Fitzpatrick’s Stockport. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Although this was their first proper day of trading, they had already gauged the kind of crowds they could expect by soft launching with friends and family last week.
That being said, as mentioned, there was a real tight-knit, community feel to the place, full of County kits, young families and older couples alike, all of whom seemed to be dovetailing together as if the pub had always been around.
SK is often dubbed one of those places where everyone kind of knows everyone, even despite how big the town is as a whole, and this definitely felt like proof of that perception.
Of course, there is some familiarity with the space having previously been Bask, but the location of the stage, a newly decked out bar and the large jumbo-tron style TV set-up for live sport in the centre of the room (providing prime viewing from virtually all angles) have made a big difference.
Based solely on the hordes of people that piled into the place the second the doors opened, we can’t wait to see what the gaff is like once it’s in so-called ‘full swing’. John and his team might just be on to something big here.
Speaking to The Manc, he said: “As a local lad, I wanted to put something into the space that reflects a lot of my history and culture. Music, food, sport and a great atmosphere are all things I love, so I wanted to reflect that in this gorgeous space.”
Open 4-11 from Tuesday to Thursday, 2pm until late on Fridays, and the same only from 1pm at weekends, we can imagine Stockport punters are about to be spending a lot of time in Fitzpatrick’s.
Manchester bar announces huge giveaway of margaritas to celebrate first birthday
Daisy Jackson
A cocktail and shuffleboard bar in Manchester city centre is throwing a weekend-long party to celebrate its first birthday, and there are free cocktails up for grabs.
Electric Shuffle is kindly offering to give all of us presents for its birthday, with an epic free margarita giveaway.
That’s alongside an almighty party that includes resident DJs, live music performances, giveaways, exclusive offers, a cracking happy hour and a free photobooth.
The Deansgate activity bar, which has 15 interactive high-tech shuffleboards to play, each one loaded with different game modes, is celebrating one year in the city centre between Friday 20 and Sunday 22 June.
They’re throwing a three-day-long celebration, kicking off at 5pm on Friday with a giveaway of margaritas for the first 250 guests through the doors.
Then there’ll be an Electric Shuffle birthday prize game, where each slide of the puck could unlock prizes like bar tabs, brunch tickets, branded merch, cocktails, pizzas and more.
Singer-songwriter Luke McColl will be playing live during the evening, and you’ll be able to dive into a free photobooth all evening.
Electric Shuffle ManchesterFood and drink at the premium gaming barElectric Shuffle Manchester turns one
Moving on to Saturday’s celebrations – expect happy hour deals all day long, like £4 pins and £7 Sarti Spritzes, complimentary shuffleboard hire (you need to pre-book HERE), a special late brunch session between 5pm and 7pm, and more prize giveaways.
This part of the birthday party will be soundtracked by resident DJs and a live set from Elle Graham.
And if you thought that was the end of the party, you’re mistaken.
On Sunday, Electric Shuffle will host free shuffleboard all day long.
All summer, there’ll be a Margs and Margs deal, where you can get two margarita cocktails and a margarita pizza for just £25.
Electric Shuffle’s first birthday celebrations take place between 20 and 22 June.
Georgina Pellant -
23rd February 2023 
