UKHospitality has warned this week’s strikes on the London Underground will have a “devastating impact” on the sector.
Kate Nicholls, CEO of the trade body, said hospitality businesses could experience sales falling “by up to 40% on strike days”.
In 2023/24, 31 strike days led to pubs and bars losing up to 38% of sales, according to UKHospitality. Coffee and sandwich shops were hit by a 34% decline in sales, followed by restaurants (–29%) and QSR delivery and takeaway (–22%).
The latest series of Tube strikes began at 12pm on Tuesday 21 April and will run until 12pm today (Wednesday 22 April). Strikes will run again from 12pm on Thursday 23 April to 12pm on Friday 24 April.
The action will cause disruption on the Piccadilly and Circle lines, with no service expected. The Metropolitan line between Baker Street and Aldgate will be suspended, while no trains will run between Liverpool Street and White City via the Central Line.
“Commuter footfall is almost non-existent and families cancel their plans to visit the capital,” said Nicholls.
“The cost of strikes can stretch into the millions – as we saw when strikes hit the sector a couple of years ago. It’s not just lost sales, but the impact on hospitality staff who can no longer get into work.”
It comes as another blow to the hospitality industry. Earlier this year, labour market data from the Office for National Statistics found almost 9,000 hospitality jobs had been lost since the November budget.
UKHospitality said this “reinforced the scale of the challenges facing hospitality”, with changes to employer NICs and other increased employment costs continuing to impact the sector.
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