Latest figures have revealed that the government’s Eat Out To Help Out initiative was used to help pay for almost 11 million meals in its first week.
HM Revenue and Customs, which is administering discount claims by restaurants, pubs and cafes, has announced that it had received requests totalling around £50m towards 10.5 million meals under the scheme so far in the first week.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said people were supporting the initiative in “big numbers”.
Under the Eat Out To Help Out scheme – announced by Rishi Sunak as part of the UK government’s #PlanForJobs – visitors will receive a 50% discount, up to a maximum of £10 per person, when dining-in at participating venues on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout 3rd – 31st August.
This unmissable offer – which can be used on more than one occasion and will see participating establishments simply remove the discount from customers’ bills – is available on food and non-alcoholic beverages, but does not include takeaway purchases.
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The scheme was designed to encourage people to dine-in and support their favourite local hangouts.
Participating venues can then receive the discount back through claims submitted to HMRC, and payouts should take no longer than five working days.
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?️ By midnight on 2 August, over 73k businesses have registered to our #EatOutToHelpOut scheme.
It’s believed that over 73,000 hospitality businesses across the UK have signed up to participate in the scheme.
Retail industry figures have also credited a “boost” from Eat Out To Help Out after seeing a rise of almost 19% on visits to high streets after 6pm between Monday and Wednesday last week, compared to the previous week.
There has however been discussion around whether the scheme will take demand away during weekends and traditional busy periods.
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Diane Wehrle – Insights Director at Springboard – said: “The jury is still out regarding the benefit of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme which launched last week, although there were rises in footfall on each day between Monday and Wednesday from the week before.”
“It is clear that it was the post-6pm period that yielded the greatest rise in footfall, and also that smaller towns benefited more than large city centres.”
“As the scheme continues throughout August and more Brits enjoy staycations across the UK, time will tell if the government scheme provides the boost that retail destinations across the country require for business survival.”
You can find venues near you participating in the Eat Out To Help Out scheme here.
For further information and guidance amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, do refer to official sources via gov.uk/coronavirus.
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The COVID-19 pandemic may have taken its toll on industries of all shapes and sizes over these past few months, but supporting local/independent business has never been more important than it is right now.
The Manc is #BuzzingToBeBack – find out more about eats in Manchester here.
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The shop where people queue OVERNIGHT for viral toys is coming to Trafford Centre
Thomas Melia
There’s a viral shop in Manchester where people queue for hours to get their hands on viral toys, and it’s now making its way to the Trafford Centre.
After already taking Manchester by storm when it initially opened back in March this year, viral toy shop Pop Mart now has its sights set on another new spot in one of the North West’s most iconic and popular shopping malls.
Known for stocking all the latest viral collectable crazes, Pop Mart is set to open its second Manchester site at none other than the Trafford Centre (TC) and will definitely bring in the same queues as its Market Street predecessor.
The Chinese toy and collectable shop has become in high demand for stocking just one certain toy character: Labubu
This cheeky toy character is quite a marmite topic for some, with many finding the plush toys to be cute and cuddly, while others deem Labubu ‘monsters’ to be a bit creepy and off-putting.
Are we pulling from an internal office debate? Maybe…
Regardless, Labubu are widely recognisable around the world, famed for their bunny-like ears and big, wide eyes; soft, shiny fur and, most notably, a large smile with their teeth on display.
It seems everyone is after one of these Labubu character toys, with Mancs making their commute to work through the city centre, startled by the sheer length of the queues at Pop Mart.
There’s a huge amount of Labubu characters to collect.Labubu has blown up online and will now be stocked across two Pop Mart locations across Greater Manchester.Credit: Pop Mart
One social media user even commented, “I went past on the tram at 7.30 this morning and there were half a dozen people in the queue already!”
Trends may come and go, but it seems this latest viral craze is here to stay as it’s now having a second resurgence thanks to lots of celebrity endorsements, including Love Island star Olivia Attwood.
We’re sure the Trafford Centre venue will be just as healthily stocked.
At present, there’s no official opening date for Pop Mart’s Trafford Centre store besides the ‘Coming Soon’ signage outside the shop front, but we’re sure it won’t be too long before you can get your next Labubu fix – we wouldn’t be surprised to see even more Greater Manchester locations follow.
Manchester United to wear special one-off shirt for important awareness campaign
Danny Jones
Just to pre-empt any Manchester United fans fearing they’re still in total delirium the next time they see that iconic red shirt, we can confirm it isn’t just your rose-tinted glasses deceiving you – the club will be wearing a special one-off shirt with a notable difference very soon.
All eyes may now be on Wednesday, 21 May but this limited edition kit has already caught the eye of many supporters for one very obvious reason.
In case you haven’t seen it for yourselves already, Man United have confirmed that both the men’s and women’s squads will be will be wearing a slight variation on their home shirt for their next two matches as part of a special campaign for an important charitable cause.
Joining forces with their usual primary shirt sponsors Snapdragon and global health campaigners Product RED, this one-off alternative strip will be unveiled on the pitch this week.
Product Red, or simply (RED) as it will read on the jersey itself, is a worldwide charity that’s been working to fight global health crises since 2006.
(RED)’s key aim is to end the AIDS epidemic and related injustices by raising money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
The organisation officially partnered with the club and Snapdragon back in January in an effort to help drive awareness and generate further backing for their work – it just so happens that teaming up with one the planet’s biggest brands and one synomyous with that colour made for the perfect collaboration.
With that in mind, putting together a one-off Man United kit with (RED) slap bang in the middle as is close to a commercial/charitable tap-in as you’re probably ever going to get.
Set to be debuted by Manchester United Women in their WSL fixutre against Arsenal this Saturday, 10 May and then again by Ruben Amorim’s side in the Premier League the following day (Sun, 11 May); plus, a select few limited edition replicas shirts will be made available for fans to purchase.
Be first in the know, Reds 👀
Get notified when our limited-edition @RED collection drops ⤵️#MUFC || @Snapdragon
It goes without saying that given the nature of the front-of-shirt sponsor swap, these will no doubt become somewhat of a special item among kit collectors from the off.
More importantly, however, the funds raised through selling these one-off Man United shirts will provide much-needed income for the non-profit and their crucial efforts.
The unveiling of the comes not long after the bedlam that ensued inside Old Trafford during the second leg against Athletic Club, in which United booked their return trip back to Bilbao for the Europa League final, leaving plenty of fans of seeing nothing but the colour red ever since.
MUWFC also sealed their spot in the Women’s Champions League next season to with an important point in the Manchester Derby this past weekend, confirming a finish above Man City this year.
Safe to say it’s been a good few days to be a (RED).