Downtown Monthly Issue 17

Issue 17 - Winter Edition

K N O W Y O U R AUDIENCE The CEO of NRB Manchester, Thom Hetherington on how the tech scene could just be the saviour of Manchester’s restaurants, pubs and bars.

- Page 8

Sacha Lord Rebecca Hopwood Ann Tonks Tomas Maunier & more

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Editor/Design: Jack Hunter Contributions: Frank McKenna, Thom Hetherington, Tomas Maunier, Delicious PR, Rebecca Hopwood, Ann Tonks, Abiee Lundberg, Patrick Gaffney, Sacha Lord, Sarah Kelly, John Angus, Alex Claridge, Liam Barrie, Marcus Magee, Paul Askew, Rob Binns.

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Flip flop approach is killing us in more ways than one

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Know your audience

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Hospitality won’t be tiered down!

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Sheer anger and frustration as pubs, restaurants and cafés face new lockdown rules that could kill off any last remaining businesses.

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Navigating the New Normal

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The Dishoom Bacon Roll Kit

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Is Hopsitality a Scapegoat?

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Adapting to Change

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15 Minutes with Sacha Lord

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The UK’s Best City Hotel

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Standing Together

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Once in a Lifetime Opportunity for Park Regis Birmingham

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INNSiDE COVID-19

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“What matters most is how well you walk through the fire…”

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Launch after Lockdown

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An Open Letter to the LCR Corporate Community

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The Little Book of Christmas Offers

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Think slow, move fast

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Manchester Central Partners with Sterling Event Group to Launch New Virtual Event Solution

*Due to the ever-changing world of COVID-19, this issue of Downtown Monthly was developed, organised, and created prior to the UK government’s decision to impose a second national lockdown.

As a result, some of the information may reference policies and rules that are no longer relevant or in effect. However, Downtown in Business believe that it was more important than ever that we still shared the views and opinions expressed from business personalities from across the hospitality sector. Thank you to everyone who contributed, we can’t wait to get back and visit you soon.

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FLIP FLOP APPROACH IS KILLING US IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE Words by:

Frank McKenna Chief Executive Downtown In Business

In October, cabinet minister Michael Gove told the nation that there was absolutely no chance of a national lockdown happening. He was supported by senior colleagues; such a scenario being described as ‘catastrophic’ by the prime minister and an ‘enigma’ by the foreign secretary.

At around the same time, the chancellor was telling regional leaders in the North and the West Midlands that he was not for moving on his furlough scheme – so tier 2 and 3 workers would only receive 67% of their wages from November as opposed to the 80% that had been paid during full lockdown back in April.

By Halloween, the ‘enigma’ was triggered. The 80% furlough restored.

But it is not only Tory cabinet members who have demonstrated signs of wild schizophrenia during their chaotic management of the pandemic. In Greater Manchester, mayor Andy Burnham was seething with the government for putting his city-region into stricter lockdown measures in mid-

October. In November, he was calling for schools to be closed.

only thing that we have in bucket loads currently.

At this rate, few of our politicians are going to come out of this crisis with much credit and it is no surprise to see Nigel Farage return to the fray with his new Reform UK party. Lancashire MP Jake Berry has set up a more interesting initiative, The Northern Research Group, to campaign for the ‘levelling up’ agenda. And his Conservative colleague in the West Midlands Andy Street was hardly complimentary in his comments over the business support packages for the hospitality sector that Rishi Sunak had announced prior to lockdown 2 being introduced.

The hospitality sector has been on the frontline of all this. Having spent significant sums making their premises Covid-secure, they have been told that they have to close their doors once again at a time that is usually its busiest. In this issue of DM, we focus on the individuals who have been living through this nightmare – and how they hope to get out of it.

Our political parties appear divided. The road map out of Covid-19 confused.

This leaves business suffering the thing it hates most – uncertainty.

The flip flopping of our leaders, the lack of an end game or clear strategy is leaving business owners and entrepreneurs in despair. Yet that is the

With infection rates continuing to rise, and the economy now in for another major trauma, we have neither protected health nor the economy. The flip flop approach from our politicians is killing us in more ways than one.

“The flip flopping of our leaders, the lack of an end game or clear strategy is leaving business owners and entrepreneurs in despair.”

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When I was asked to write a hospitality article for Downtown In Business I set myself a challenge No mention of Covid, nor Brexit.

No talk of tiers, nor supply chain disruption, nor of guidance which provides less clarity and direction than a trail of artisan sourdough breadcrumbs. This paragraph aside, will I manage it? Let’s see, as I look beyond the current maelstrom and instead return to one of the basic tenets of hospitality and its ongoing application to my home city of Manchester.

Some time ago I read a book called ‘The Art of the Restaurateur’, by critic, consultant and erstwhile restaurateur (and fellow Mancunian) Nick Lander.

Each chapter is a distillation of a single lesson from one of the giants of the hospitality firmament, and together they form a holy text for those wanting to run the perfect restaurant. The fundamental principle that always stuck in my mind was “Look after your regulars”. Because you cannot truly be hospitable if you don’t know what makes your customers tick.

And this made me think back to the renaissance of Northern hospitality in the late 1990s, when the entire sector was redefined by Living Ventures who popularised the idea of Business Development Managers, or ‘BDMs’.

These individuals were not strictly marketing, but were far from just hosts. Instead they were expected to represent their brand’s values, and to know their regulars on sight and by name, engaging with them on their own turf before bringing them under their respective restaurant’s wings.

And be under no illusions, the model worked, because it was built around that long established concept of knowing your audience. And back then the main audience of high

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value regulars was in Manchester’s burgeoning corporate sector, particularly those in property and professional services. Usually suited and booted, they careered about King St, and later Spinningfields, visibly splashing the cash for long lunches, post-work drinks, extravagant dinners, and a never-ending whirl of high-margin work events.

Through the noughties other dining tribes came to the fore, not least via a boom in media and creative sectors accelerated by the opening of MediaCity and the blossoming of the Northern Quarter. But throughout this flux the pin-stripe corporate expense accounts from big shiny glass offices reigned supreme as the financial bedrock of daytime/weekday spend for many a city centre venue.

As we emerge, blinking, into any ‘new normal’ will they still be here? And if not, who might replace them?

Well there is one underappreciated audience which is right here under our noses, or possibly sat tapping away quietly at the end of the bar. It is immune to the current economic travails and is growing at almost 10% per year. It is made up of 63,000 high-earning, highspending individuals (average salaries can be £50k, and three figure renumeration is not unusual), and it loves hospitality in all its guises. They probably already spend thousands in your local haunts. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you ‘tech’.

This opportunity was crystalised by a chance discussion with Amy Newton, one of the most influential people in Manchester’s tech sector.

She highlighted that after a hard and often isolated day coding developers had a huge appetite for getting out and meeting their peers, dining and drinking. It is their safety net, their support system, their social life.

Although an unassuming and often ‘invisible’ audience, they feel a loyalty to hospitality. They see the sector struggling and they want to help, as it helps them.

The sociologist AnnaLee Saxenian wrote a book, Regional Advantage, which explored how the symbiotic dynamic between the burgeoning start-up community and the indie hospitality operators of 1970s Silicon Valley helped it to overtake the East Coast as a global tech centre, despite the latter’s better resources, infrastructure and cachet. California’s laid back and vibrant social scene provided a fertile environment for the cross-pollination of ideas and innovations, whilst operators got cash in their tills. Manchester, this is an opportunity.

So although the UK’s hospitality sector is currently on its knees, with government policies seemingly targeted to deliver death by a thousand unjustifiable hammer blows, the truth it that it will weather this storm, and it will recover. And when it does, Nick Lander’s golden rules will remain as true as ever, for operators in each and every city.

It’s ironic that in a world where so many sectors are being upended by the digital revolution, the tech scene could just be the saviour of Manchester’s restaurants, pubs and bars.

“But throughout this flux the pin-stripe corporate expense accounts from big shiny glass offices reigned supreme as the financial bedrock of daytime/wweekday spend for many a city centre venue.”

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K N O W Y O U R AUDIENCE Words by:

Thom Hetherington Chief Executive NRB Manchester

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Words by:

Tomas Maunier Managing Director City District

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Hospitality won’t be tiered down!

Just a few days have gone by since the government announced the new local COVID-alert levels and the three-tier lockdown system.

We in hospitality felt the reverberations instantaneously. Now this, is what you could call efficiency!

Oh no, wait...I am not talking about the desired impact it has on the increasing COVID cases affecting the North. I am talking here specifically about the calamitous repercussions on the lives of each and every individual working in hospitality. Let me paint an honest picture for you. At the time of writing, we traded at 27% year on year last week.

That's -73%!

Local restrictions not only result in increased responsibilities as an operator to try your utmost to ensure safety of both guests and our teams, but sends consumer confidence plummeting. It's a constant balancing act. It's our job to not only implement and execute the strictest safety measures, but to reassure our guests that we are COVID-secure.

We understand the role we have to play to curtail the impact of COVID in our communities, we are by no means shying away from our responsibilities. In fact, on the contrary! I can wholeheartedly say that as a business we have chosen to go above and beyond.

When we were coming back from lockdown, we decided to stagger our re-openings, with the first restaurant opening at the back end of July, and the last in the first week of September.

We wore face coverings from day one, when face-coverings were not even

mandatory on public transport or in shops. We adhered to every local household 'guideline', despite the lack of enforcement or legal requirement We have been temperature checking every team member and guest the moment they enter, from the go.

Since we have reopened all six of our restaurants, we have served over 80,000 guests across the group since the 22nd of July. Up until now, we have had 5 positive cases amongst 330 employees. 4 guests have contacted us to tell us they have tested positive after dining, with no allusion to having contracted the virus at our restaurants. We have had 0 contacts from NHS Test & Trace.

That sounds like a very secure environment to me. 9 cases in 80,000+ are chances worth taking.

As Managing Director, I have felt the weight of hundreds of employees on my shoulders since March. I'm 100% certain I am not alone. Maybe this should bring me some solace, though unfortunately it doesn't. My pain is shared with every other operator across the nation right now.

We have seen cases of COVID-19 plateau during July, August and the first weeks of September, rising exponentially in the past month. Why is our industry being blamed? Why are we paying the price for a minority who have not been playing their part, and not taking their role in this fight seriously?

My voice is only one of thousands that represent hospitality. An industry which is the third biggest contributor to our economic health. An industry which has been labelled as 'low-skilled' and has a tainted past of under appreciation pre-pandemic. An industry, that is quite frankly on its knees right now.

Hospitality is an art. We are not lowskilled, we are not prepared to go under the radar and be overlooked by leaders who fail to recognise the dire straits in which they are indirectly leading us into.

Someone once said to me, that opinions should not affect facts, however facts should affect opinions. We understand that the numbers on the dashboard are flashing red lights right now. But I do strongly believe that there are different ways of analysing the data, and it can be used to justify decisions by presenting the numbers in the most convenient way that suits central government.

Ultimately, we all have a shared responsibility, as business owners, individuals and citizens. We must strive to strike a balance to ensure that the finger is not pointed heavily in one direction, towards one industry. We all must be united in our efforts to protect others, save lives and safeguard our economy. Let's hope that sooner rather than later we see people step up to their responsibility in this ongoing fight.

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Sheer anger and frustration as pubs, restaurants and cafés face new lockdown rules that could kill off any last remaining businesses.

The hospitality sector in the West Midlands was thrown into despair at the PM’s announcement of new tier system. The Birmingham hospitality sector feels it is being targeted unfairly by the government.

The shattering impact of the new restrictions on the already fragile hospitality sector in Birmingham was summed up by restaurateur Nitin Solanki, from Aluna Bar in the Mailbox and Siamais Thai restaurant in Brindleyplace, who said “No business can survive the new rules”.

Nitin spoke out after the PM confirmed that Birmingham, along with Sandwell, Solihull, Wolverhampton and Walsall, would be subject to extra restrictions after being classed as "high risk" areas under a new three-tier system.

The concerns of Nitin Solanki are echoed throughout the hospitality industry, with the government’s new

three-tier system, not only reinforcing the 10pm curfew, but also stopping people (who aren’t from the same household) meeting in hospitality settings. The government’s new approach focuses on segregating areas of the country into either ‘very high’, ‘high’, or ‘medium’ risk categories, based on their rates of transmission, which subsequently, determines the extent of restrictions. With Birmingham placed on ‘high’ risk tier 2, further restrictions apply outside of the hospitality sector, such as the rule of 6 now applying to private gardens.

per cent on cashflow in July and with the 10pm curfew we lost an extra 30 per cent - and now if we are compliant with the latest restrictions we will lose even more.

Nitin said: "It's Armageddon for the hospitality industry. We were down 50

He added: "I was worried about the furlough scheme ending but now with

The way our venues are set up, we have lots of larger tables - it's very group friendly. So now realistically, if people are only in twos or fours - we lose an extra 40 per cent in turnover.

Also we can't benefit from the job reduction scheme unless we are fully closed. It's just terrible.”

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Anita Champaneri from Delicious PR said, “This is going to have a massive detrimental effect on the majority of businesses. Most of our clients are independent restaurant owners and they are not just feeling the pinch, they feel like they are under a sledgehammer, decimating any last remnants of business”. these new restrictions the situation to me feels hopeless. "No business could survive."

James Wong’s family run Chinese restaurant, Chung Ying has been open nearly 40 years and started lockdown by providing free meals for NHS workers. After all the strain and expenses of adhering to the coronavirus guidelines over the past few months, including extra training for staff and operating at a reduced capacity, Mr. Wong feels as though the hospitality industry is being unfairly targeted by the government. The infection rate via the hospitality trade locally, is said to be less than 5%, leading many to conclude that this sector, amongst others, is paying the price for other causes of transmission, such as students returning to university.

However, much like others within Birmingham’s hospitality industry, Mr. Wong isn’t giving up without a fight. Local politicians are now facing significant uproar to challenge these new restrictions and to put forward evidence of local statistics, in a desperate bid to save Birmingham’s infamous hospitality industry.

Birmingham Mayor, Andy Street took to Instagram earlier in the week to outline the new restrictions and to express his own surprise at the government’s decision, emphasising the importance of data

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and evidence in any decision-making process.

With Birmingham now residing in the same tier as Manchester – which has an average infection rate of more than 550 per 100,000 – Mr. Street compares Birmingham’s average infection rate of 123 per 100,000.

With the second wave in full swing and a long winter ahead, Labour MPs have suggested the idea of a ‘circuit breaker’ – a short, sharp and, strict lockdown – to curb the increasing rates of transmission. The proposed circuit breaker is thought to be most effective if imposed while schools are shut for half term – which will be a two-week period spanning Halloween and early November. While the benefits of another strict lockdown are undeniable, it begs the question, what would this mean for the economy? And most importantly, what would this mean for Birmingham’s hospitality industry if restaurants, bars and pubs are required to close?

While Birmingham’s hospitality sector will dwindle, it is not the only industry in the city that will fall victim to the new Coronavirus restrictions, and with local statistics contradicting these harsh rules, we will continue to push for more accurate restrictions that are representative of our infection rates.

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Anita Champaneri Delicious PR

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Words by: Rebecca Hopwood, Group Sales and Events Manager at D&D.

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“Advised by the government, we have worked tirelessly to ensure we have complied with guidelines since reopening.

It does however make it all the more disappointing that hospitality is seemingly being restricted further, when there is limited data to suggest that restaurants are a significant contributor to the proportion of rising cases.”

2020 has been a challenging year for all, especially in the hospitality sector, but we are doing all we can to stay positive and adapt to the constantly changing government guidelines.

Re-opening on the 4th July and welcoming guests back through our doors, whilst they dined behind freshly disinfected Perspex, was an extremely surreal experience. We at D&D London, along with the majority of our peers in the hospitality sector across the UK, have spared no expense to install Health and Safety Measures to keep our guests and staff safe. Advised by the government, we have worked tirelessly to ensure we have complied with guidelines since reopening. It does however make it all the more disappointing that hospitality is seemingly being restricted further, when there is limited data to suggest that restaurants are a significant contributor to the proportion of rising cases.

With all of the new procedures being put in place it was hard to see how we would function as normal. We have lost a significant amount of business to comply with social distancing, vertical drinking restrictions, in addition to further loss of business due to the 10pm curfew, and single household rules.

Working as a Group Sales and Events Manager within the sector has been

frustrating, as a sales focused individual it saddened me to see the enquiries and demand for group bookings and events coming in, but not being able to accommodate due to the government guidelines. We are trying our very best to adapt to the ever-changing demands, and we are enormously grateful for those who have supported us so far.

As industry individuals, it has been great to see the efforts behind the #cancelthecurfew campaign. Having to empty a restaurant whilst guests are seated enjoying their evening goes against everything we stand for. In Leeds we have so many incredible independent bars whose peak hours are post 10pm, and it’s been difficult to see so many with less resources struggling. Now more than ever we need people to support hospitality!

Eat Out to Help Out was incredible and we saw an amazing boost in covers with so many smiling faces coming through the doors. It’s amazing to see the loyalty of guests still returning after the scheme ended, both new and old, with the continuation of our menu offerings.

We are fortunate to have rooftop terraces at all of our venues in the North, meaning we can book in groups outside from multiple households. The autumnal sun has been very much appreciated and allowed us to maximise those

outdoor spaces. We have introduced new activations and it has forced us to be more creative as a business. To name a few we have Tuesdays Tipples, Thursday Weekend Warm-ups and our late-night express menus showcasing some of our signature dishes and drinks. We have amended our opening times to open earlier, we have brought in new menu ideas to allow for a speedy service before the curfew and we have introduced great value menus to entice people through our doors. We are working on event ideas to secure business on the books for Q3 that are all complying with the current government guidelines and we want to provide people with something to look forward to. It feels strange planning NYE parties based on a 10pm curfew but this curfew won’t stop us celebrating the end of 2020!

Hospitality as a sector is resilient, and we are putting up a fight to ensure we are coming back bigger and better than ever. We don’t know what the future holds, but what we do know is that once restrictions are lifted, we will be ready to open our venues to their full potential once again. COVID-19 isn’t going away any time soon, so we must continue to learn to live with it, and we will keep adapting.

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The Dishoom Bacon Naan Roll Kit Introducing, our first-ever 'at-home' cookery kit, complete with all the ingredients (and the know-how) to create Bacon Naan Rolls in your own kitchen.

Our kit contains the freshest ingredients, dishoomed straight to your door, including:– smoked streaky bacon from Ramsay of Carluke (matured in the traditional Ayrshire way and smoked over applewood and beechwood chips), three naan doughballs (enough for two plus a spare for experimentation), tomato-chilli jam (our sweet, sharp, spicy signature sauce), fresh coriander and cream cheese. Handy cooking instructions are supplied, as well as a helpful video for first-timers, provided below. Each kit also contains loose-leaf Darjeeling tea, chai spices and fresh ginger slices for brewing Chef Naved's much-loved Masala Chai.

Breakfast and Chai for 2, for £16. Too good.

And for every Bacon Naan you make at home, we will donate a meal to Magic Breakfast – a brilliant charity who provide nourishing free meals to schools. This means the children are undistracted by hunger, and ready to learn.

The Bacon Naan Roll Kits are available to order for nationwide delivery from the button below.

Order for nationwide delivery

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• • • •

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Words by:

Ann Tonks Managing Director Opus

Is Hospitality a scape goat?

Our country is in an endless cycle of reaction rather than planning. Our hospitality venues are buffeted by ‘restriction creep’ - momentum begins to build only to be stopped by further restrictions that are poorly thought through and are causing more harm than good.

The impact of the PM’s announcement this week that Birmingham is being thrust into Tier 2 is devastating to the city and to our hospitality industry. We are going backwards. We need a robust, logical strategy for re-opening the economy with a clearly communicated plan. This announcement in Parliament did not accomplish that.

The lack of evidence-based restrictions that target hospitality cause huge frustration and uncertainty. We challenge the government to produce evidence that restaurants in Birmingham are spreading the virus. The majority of hospitality venues have been superb at compliance, but are now the victims of government failures. The lockdown was

supposed to buy us time to get the basics right. Emerging from total lockdown was always going to lead to greater risk of spread and that’s where a robust track and trace system should have come in.

As a result of being in Tier 2, Opus estimates we will immediately witness a decline of at least 60% of our bookings; single households do not account for that much of our business. This will be true of many of our colleagues across the city. The overall effect on sales means our turnover will be at best 20% of normal, pre-Covid levels.

Staff working hours will have to be radically reduced. With no further financial help from the Treasury, there

will be huge redundancies and restaurant closures. Even two weeks as a Tier 2 city is financially unviable.

Treasury support must come with these devastating and ill thought through restrictions. It is financially better to be forced to close than to try and stay open; at least Treasury support is there for complete closures, not so for trying courageously to carry on.

We urgently need the following Treasury support: 1. Return to flexible furlough (the JSS is not fit for purpose as it is dependent on turnover that is growing, not contracting);

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“At the end of the day, our biggest concern is for our dedicated, talented team. This is all about people – their safety and their livelihoods.”

2. Additional grants between £10,000 and £25,000 to help venues over this winter period, as Christmas sales will now be non existent - it is December when most restaurants make their annual profit.

3. We need to know now that VAT will continue to be at current level of 5% for hospitality/retail throughout 2021, and that business rates holiday continues through all of 2021; this allows us to plan ahead for what will be an extremely difficult road to recovery.

All of this financial assistance is essential not only for restaurants in Tier 2, but is needed for all hospitality as the nation is returning to a quasi-lock down situation - any momentum that has been built over the summer and early autumn has reached a full stop. The hospitality economy is

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contracting.

Further, we need the government to recognise that the curfew for hospitality must be changed from 10pm to midnight.

At the end of the day, our biggest concern is for our dedicated, talented team. This is all about people – their safety and their livelihoods. We have a team we are extremely proud of and they have been superb at helping us to make good decisions about how to adapt our business under the Covid circumstances. Opus to You was developed during lockdown to get meal boxes to customers, and its success has led to it remaining a part of our permanent offering.

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Adapting to change...

The Bierkeller Entertainment Complex Liverpool reopened its doors from the original lockdown on September the 4th...

... Not on 4th of July like many other venues, a decision due to multiple factors including new ownership but mainly made due to the fact our venue usually holds 1000 people split across three large rooms and now the numbers are reduced rather dramatically. Three quite different rooms all offering something unique to our customers. Pre-COVID our Bierkeller room was always packed out every weekend mainly for the large football crowd that we cater for, along with our Shooters sports bar it truly is a great atmosphere in there with everyone singing football songs and cheering when their team scores, sadly something we are now missing and seems like a distant memory due to the restrictions especially as we would have thrived this year with Liverpool winning the Premier league and a great start to Everton’s season.

Words by:

Abiee Lundberg Business Development Manager Bierkeller

from corporate companies to movie nights and the legendary dancing on the benches. It is a hard pill to swallow when our employees have worked ridiculously hard to ensure we are COVID safe and yet we face more restrictions on how we trade and cannot put on the events we love to do.

We are one of the lucky ones that can continue to stay open and for now in business, however at a much-reduced rate to what we are used to. To accommodate such changes, we have a limited pizza menu for just £5 per pizza. We are also adapting and becoming a more family friendly venue with hopefully an amazing Christmas show! Let us hope we can have a positive Christmas and get back to doing what the Bierkeller loves to do – Entertain!

But the Bierkeller is not just for sporting fans, we offer so much more in terms of what we can turn our Bierkeller space into, over the years we have hosted numerous large events

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“It feels to us and the industry that the government had to be seen to be doing something, so they said “right everyone shut at 10pm” and how ridiculous was that?”

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Downtown’s Patrick Gaffney interviews Greater Manchester’s Night Time Economy Adviser and cocreator of Parklife and The Warehouse Project, Sacha Lord about the hospitality sector and the challenges faced by Greater Manchester.

At the time of our discussion, various northern MPs and leaders of Manchester City Council along with the regions Metro Mayor Andy Burnham were in negotiations with central government about a potential move for the city region into Tier Three restrictions in line with large areas of neighbouring counties Merseyside and Lancashire. With the later deadline of mid-day on Tuesday 20th October not yet agreed, the city waited patiently to hear the result of the discussions and what measures might be taken…

PG: Good morning Sacha, so… how are you getting on?

SL: It’s been a tough time but we are lucky to have someone like Andy Burnham on our side in Greater Manchester. Someone nailed it the other day when they were talking to me about him. He doesn’t speak like a politician, he speaks like us. When he gave his press conference on the steps of the library, that was just a normal person talking about what they believe in rather than having to think about every second word. When the public see cameras and reporters in the street, people tend to gather and after he had delivered his speech people started applauding, which shows he’s doing the right thing. It will be interesting to see where we go from here.

PG: We are all trying our best to continue, but it feels as though every conversation has this shadow over it, a kind of unspoken uncertainty as we try to continue with events as best we can within the rules. What is happening with Parklife?

SL: Well, you know, we have our Parklife line up for next year booked and ready to go, we were due to announce it but the temperature in the country just wasn’t right at the time to do it. We need to get through this period before we start to talk about festivals.

PG: Any acts or names you want to leak here?

SL: No… PG: Fair enough. Are socially distanced gigs something that the Warehouse Project have considered?

SL: United We Stream was one of the first virtual platforms to host gigs over lockdown. Over a ten week period every Friday and Saturday night, we had 16million viewers, and we raised half a million quid. So it does work and I think we could learn something from it. It was something that was kind of in my head even before covid hit. With the big ticket concerts, not everyone can afford the high ticket prices commanded by some acts and there is scope to have not just livestreaming but a paywall and produce something that is really experiential.

PG: Also I suppose people with accessibility issues like anxiety in large capacity venues?

SL: Lewis Capaldi did it at his concert and had a section specifically for that. I know people who want to go to Parklife but can’t because of the large crowds so I think it could open up something new.

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PG: Are there any particular artists or events that you are looking forward to once we are allowed again?

SL: At the moment I am just looking forward to getting my own gigs back on to be honest. The government don’t understand our industry, they have suggested live events coming back at lower capacities, but no promoter would or could consider that. Once you have covered your artist fees, production, sound, light, travel, air travel, no one is going to be able to consider a concert until that’s sorted. I am just hopeful that we will be able to gain some sense of normalcy in 2021.

PG: So have you been involved in those conversations in your capacity as Night Time Economy Advisor for Greater Manchester?

SL: Yes, very much so from day one, Andy (Burnham) is on the phone frequently really really concerned.

I’ll give you a great example - when it broke in the press that Gorilla and Deaf Institute, two grassroots music venues in the city were to close, within seconds he was on the phone to me. That was the Thursday night and on Saturday they had a buyer in place and were sat in the room with the lawyers. On Tuesday a deal was announced. He loves live music and gigs, I know that because he is always calling me to try and get into Albert Hall. As such he has a real passion and understanding for it.

PG: The grass roots music scene in Manchester is really strong and it’s good to have that support.

I was at an outside gig this weekend in lieu of venues being allowed to host.

SL: It’s really good for people’s mental health. I am getting hundreds of heart-breaking messages and I am doing my best to point them in the right direction for assistance and help or counselling. There’s no hope or guidance out there for many, many people. When you shut bars and pubs down, the supply chain is hit, the drinks suppliers, the taxi drivers, the whole ecology is being forgotten and ignored.

PG: The cancel the curfew calls for a lift on the 10pm closure and it’s widely reported that hospitality venues are accountable for 3%-4% of cases. Is there any information you have been given to contradict this that might explain enforced early closures?

SL: That’s right, Public Health England have come out again this week and said, of all the new cases last week only 3% were attributed to the hospitality industry, and yet they are about to wield a reckless

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blow to us…. It feels to us and the industry that the government had to be seen to be doing something, so they said “right everyone shut at 10pm” and how ridiculous was that? For me to get my annual Parklife license I have to show how I can do a staggered egress on 80k people. So by shutting everyone down at 10 o’clock we saw the takeaways, public transport and taxis overloaded and it does far more harm than good.

PG: It seems that Manchester has been quite responsible since the 4th July when hospitality re-opened?

SL: Yes but that was another example of a bad decision by our government to set that re-opening to a Saturday, after all the bars and restaurants had put so many actions in place with one way systems, Perspex screens and table service and then have it all happen on the busiest day of the week.

PG: A credit to the operators who managed it safely and were able to handle that.

SL: Absolutely all credit to them.

PG: So as you say we are waiting with bated breath to see what tier Manchester will be in and what discrepancies there will be from other regions like we have seen across Lancashire and Merseyside. As we wait for that news is there anything that helped you through the lockdown first time round that if we are to face similar measures again might help?

SL: The thing that has kept me going has been fighting, being a voice for people and being able to use my platform and seeing some result.

PG: And thank you for your tireless efforts to help on behalf of the city.

SL: No it’s good because normally people just find me irritating and it’s nice to get a thumbs up.

PG: I am sure they are few and far between, thank you for having a chat with us.

SL: Any time.

Downtown Monthly

“Andy (Burnham) is on the phone frequently really really concerned.

I’ll give you a great example - when it broke in the press that Gorilla and Deaf Institute, two grassroots music venues in the city were to close, within seconds he was on the phone to me.”

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Join DIB.

www.downtowninbusiness.com

Photo by Infitnite 3D

We are delighted to let you know we have been named the UK’s Best City Hotel by The Times and The Sunday Times!

“The annual Best Places to Stay guide, featuring the very best British hotels, has become the gold standard of the industry over the past decade... our reviewers have selected Hope Street Hotel as one of our best hotels in the country.”

Duncan Craig, Travel Editor, The Times and The Sunday Times And to celebrate we have some winning offers...

Dinner, bed and breakfast Enjoy a two course dinner for two in The London Carriage Works, an upgraded room and breakfast from £149 Bed and breakfast Skip dinner while still enjoying the upgraded room and breakfast for two from £109 Join our mailing list for extra benefits (head to our website and subscribe on the home page) www.hopestreethotel.co.uk | sleep@hopestreethotel.co.uk | 0151 709 3000

Downtown Monthly

The UK’s Best City Hotel Hope Street Hotel was named the UK's Best City Hotel in the annual The Times and The Sunday Times Best Places to Stay guide.

'The annual Sunday Times Best Places to Stay guide, featuring the very best British hotels, has become the gold standard of the industry over the past decade... Our reviewers have selected Hope Street Hotel as one of the best hotels in the country.' Duncan Craig, Travel Editor, The Times and The Sunday Times.

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As an independent, local business that has been operating since 2004, and now employs more than 100 staff, we are absolutely committed to finding ways of ensuring that we remain sustainable and successful - alongside colleagues across the hospitality sector and beyond - and we have worked tirelessly to introduce Covid-safe measures to ensure that the safety of all our guests and staff remains of paramount importance.

Government guidance says that if you are within a Tier 3 area, you

may travel to hotels and other guest accommodation in that area. We look forward to welcoming local guests - to help support the hospitality sector and the wider Liverpool City Region economy.'

Downtown Monthly

Dave Brewitt, owner and Chief Executive says: 'For Hope Street Hotel to be named the UK's best city hotel is a great accolade for Liverpool, and should be a time of celebration for the Hope Street Hotel team. However, the impact of Tier 3 restrictions has overshadowed this.

The restrictions have already had a seriously damaging effect on the business, with hotel occupancy levels and restaurant bookings at an all-time low. Of course, the Tier 3 restrictions do not just affect the hotel - they affect all of our suppliers and everyone we work with, and have a huge impact on many other sectors in the local economy.

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Downtown Monthly

Standing Together I started a new role as Director of Sales & Marketing in Pullman Liverpool in August 2020, which was a very strange time to start a new Sales role in hospitality, but after having gone through redundancy for my previous role, I was so excited and happy to be back doing what I loved!

In August, we had a great month mostly around leisure, and again September another great month, far better than expected before reopening, and finishing on 47% occupancy! We started to see an increase for small meetings wanting to take place in the coming months; and a lot of the business was coming in, in the month or pick up just a few days before, as people were too nervous to make plans too far in advance.

However, we then get to October, and the new local restrictions are put in place, and we see a mass amount of cancellations, from both accommodation and small meetings, and pick up has now slowed right down for us, and a lot of the hospitality sector in Liverpool.

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Words by:

Sarah Kelly Director of Sales & Marketing Pullman Liverpool

We have made the decision to not yet open our restaurant after lockdown, due to our location, and being on site with ECL, ACC & M&S Bank Arena, which is still unfortunately shut!

businesses not just in hospitality, but also from marketing, food suppliers, linen suppliers and much more, then not to mention the effect this will have on people’s mental health!

It is heart-breaking to see what this virus is doing to our industry, but then infuriating that the government put these restrictions and local lockdowns on us, when in fact the spread is only 5% in our industry. I honestly feel that hospitality has taken the new rules, laws and restrictions in their stride. We have followed everything, and are now one of the safest places to be.

We all understand there is a long road ahead of recovery, but we felt like in September we were on the right track, now this feels like all our hard work had gone to waste.

I feel the media is playing a big part in the effects on hospitality, the fact that we hear about what the government will do next from social media, or in the paper is ridiculous!

We do not want another furlough scheme, we want to do our jobs, and run our businesses safely. Further lock down is the last thing we need. The worrying effects this would have on

We want to stand together as Liverpool to show we are Covid Safe and stop the scaremongering. Liverpool runs on Hospitality and Culture, and we are seeing this slowly be ruined every day!

SUPERIOR A S S TA N DA R D C O N TA C T U S : H9227@accor.com | 0151 945 1000 | all.accor.com PullmanLpool |

pullman_liverpool |

@Pullman_Lpool

Downtown Monthly

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Downtown Monthly

ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY FOR PARK REGIS BIRMINGHAM Downtown in Business caught up with the Managing Director of Park Regis Birmingham, John Angus to discuss the challenges for the hotel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Downtown Monthly

Downtown Birmingham in Business was lucky enough to host our first ‘LIVE’ event in the city since Lockdown was imposed in March 2020, at the fabulous Park Regis Hotel.

get his views and thoughts on the new safety measures and the government’s handling of the crisis for the hospitality sector.

With Social Distancing measures in place, mandatory face coverings worn and many other COVID secure measures in place, DIB knew it was the right venue to ensure attendees felt safe and secure as we began to slowly get back to business.

Discussing how the hotel have managed with the continuous changing environment for the hospitality sector during COVID-19 pandemic John commented; “It has been a tough 6 months; our hotels went from great performance and optimism to essentially no business.

And DIB was lucky enough to catch up the key man at the hotel, John Angus, to

“We have had to totally re-invent and reestablish our hotels in the marketplace.

The biggest challenge we’ve had to face is customer confidence, the ever-changing environment has driven bookings to being extremely short term (70% of our business bookings within 7 days). Our customers cannot see a future at this stage, hence anything past the month we are in, is impossible to forecast and plan for.”

We were keen to get John’s thoughts on how he felt the UK government had handled the crisis. Whilst, acknowledging it was a difficult job for Boris, Rishi and co., John cited several key areas that he thought they have

“We have had to adapt the rules and, in most cases, decide upon new standards, based upon our knowledge and expertise.” handled better, but he mostly felt the communication was the key missing ingredient; “Financially the government could not have done much more for our industry. Consistency of message has been a challenge for Hospitality.

“We have had to adapt the rules and, in most cases, decide upon new standards, based upon our knowledge and expertise. The issue with everyone creating their own standards is inconsistency. As an example, one unified accreditation scheme for the industry, to confirm it is COVID

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Secure, would have been a simple and effective way to really give customers confidence.”

Before our time with John ended, he was keen to point out that not everything has been negative. In fact, as with a number of businesses, the lost Spring/Summer of 2020 has presented opportunities to review business practices and introduce new schemes.

John observed; “There are numerous positives e.g. We had a once in a lifetime opportunity to re-assess how we operate, the changes that we have made to our

working practices have made us more versatile and durable, as we re-build our business those changes will stand us in good stead.

“We have also had the opportunity to really build our teams, adversity brings people closer together and we have certainly benefited from that.”

For further information about the Park Regis Birmingham visit: www.parkregisbirmingham.co.uk

Downtown Monthly

INNSiDE COVID-19 Words by:

Scott Brown Cluster Director of Sales, UK North – Melia Hotels International

“Having spent nearly 20 years in Hospitality, I have never looked upon work as simply “a job.”

For many, hospitality grabs you whilst making plans for other things, before swiftly becoming a passion and when I left my previous role at The Lowry Hotel Manchester, it was for more than just “a new job” but for a project.”

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Downtown Monthly

How are you? Good, you? That’s how most of my conversations start and these days is swiftly followed by “well actually it’s been a bit tough really hasn’t it?”

The last 8 months on the “CoronaCoaster” have certainly had their share of ups and downs and one thing I know is that starting in a new role and a new company just 2 weeks before “Lockdown 1” was nothing if not a learning curve!

Having spent nearly 20 years in Hospitality, I have never looked upon work as simply “a job.” For many, hospitality grabs you whilst making plans for other things, before swiftly becoming a passion and when I left my previous role at The Lowry Hotel Manchester, it was for more than just “a new job” but for a project. A project to open new hotels across the UK with Melia Hotels International, a company I had always admired as a forward thinking, fast growing and well respected hotel business. Their INNSiDE brand was one that I had appreciated from a distance, fresh, contemporary, a relaxed service that makes the guest feel welcome but never imposes. From the in-house DJ in the restaurant and bar to the art gallery featuring local artists and the meeting space that promotes “Big Ideas” in a creative and tech filled space – it was intriguing. Even more was the challenge of adding to and leading the commercial direction of the brands first UK Hotel, the INNSiDE Manchester, with new INNSiDE Hotels in Newcastle and Liverpool with Glasgow and more in the pipeline for future years.

The first set back for me personally was my planned induction into a new brand grinding to somewhat of a halt.

Visiting our sister hotels and colleagues in London, our Global Sales Office and integrating into a world-wide brand was quickly reduced to being alone, in a somewhat empty hotel completing

distanced learning and meeting colleagues over skype, teams, zoom, whatsaap, facetime, botim, bluejeans… who knew there were so many! I love tech but as you will hear from everyone in hospitality, nothing beats meeting people face to face!

The positive side to this was that this period allowed me to work in a focused way with my new Cluster UK colleagues on our local strategy, to impart my expectations on the team and imbed new ideas and ways of working.

The second set back was the closure of the INNSiDE Manchester hotel for the duration of Lockdown 1. Whilst everyone in the country and the world to some degree, endured such a moment it was still difficult to face such unknown times, furloughing staff, cancelling or postponing bookings and events and planning with uncertainty - not least with the worry of the construction to the two new hotels at risk also.

The Cluster Team were kept in place to continue work on our new openings but also to secure the INNSiDE Manchester which needed at least a couple of people in the hotel to secure and maintain the property.

to Help Out” campaign saw people not just coming to our Hideout Lounge and Grill at the hotel but having a reason to visit Manchester for a leisure stay whilst dining out in the city. Our INNSiDE Newcastle and INNSiDE Liverpool construction teams had only lost a few weeks and were back to working on delivering two amazing new hotels.

The third major set back has been the effects of Lockdown 2. It is not my place to politicize or pontificate on this but the speed at which this happened and the ripple effect this creates is one we will feel the effects of for some time.

As with the earlier two set backs it is our duty as leaders to look for positives and the fact we have a small window of breathing space before we launch into the opening of INNSiDE Newcastle is a help in terms of our planning and delivery and I am sure we will feel the benefits of this down the line in 2021.

We have also partnered with Comme Ca Art in Manchester to install fresh art on a quarterly basis in our INNSiDE Manchester, when the hotel re-opens this will provide something new for our local community to come in and see. We cannot wait for people to see it.

The positive side to this emerged when during this crisis we offered our services to Greater Manchester Combined Authority to use some of our rooms for those who truly needed. This period went without problems and left the hotel team feeling like they had played a small part in supporting the city at a challenging time.

With INNSiDE Newcastle opening December 14th, INNSiDE Liverpool opening in May 2021 and INNSiDE Manchester re-opening with a new Art Gallery and refurbished Restaurant and Bar - we are thrilled to have something positive to bring to our industry and the new cities that we are joining and have further exciting announcements still to make!

We emerged from Lockdown 1, nervous but with a degree of optimism. Many people had postponed events rather than cancel so forward event pace in Manchester looked solid and whilst corporate accommodation was still chronically low, the summers “Eat Out

We have to keep dreaming. We have to keep innovating. We have to keep welcoming. It is what we do and one thing is certain - all that we have survived in 2020 will one day be part of the story that sees us thrive in years to come!

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Downtown Monthly

Words by:

Alex Claridge Head Chef and Owner The Wilderness

“WHAT MATTERS MOST IS HOW WELL YOU WALK THROUGH THE FIRE…”

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Downtown Monthly 2020 is unprecedented. Unprecedented. What a word – I mean, naturally, that’s what we instinctively do right? We cling to the buzzwords and clichés like the dispossessed to driftwood. Wrap our pursed little stressed lips around its syllables with the hope we can normalise, codify, understand.

Yet that’s the problem – I know the sounds to make, but the more words I try the less they seem to fit. There’s still so much I don’t, and can’t, understand about this year. Let us try to organise our year to date – this is our pandemic retrospective.

The Good It gave me the time and headspace to design a gin – in collaboration with my long-time friend, colleague and collaborator Robert Wood. There are worse lockdown projects and it kept me from baking any more banana bread and contributing to the lesser spoken of national crises – overzealous home-bakers. Our gin was crafted with support from an experienced distiller, Jordan Lunn (top tip that – find someone with more talent than you) and is, fundamentally, a London dry style of gin, but with a selection of culinary inspired botanicals. We focused our efforts on creating a remarkable product with limited availability. It sold out shortly after release.

I’ve also never had occasion to read as much and think as much. Over-thought can be a demon in these trying times, but we are 100% a better business than we would ever have become without this disruption. Maybe not financially but, as outlined in the compelling ‘Small Giants’ one of my favourite lockdown reads, there is much more than pure profit to running a business. I’ve also read and enjoyed ‘Oversubscribed’

by Daniel Priestley, which has provided a comprehensive framework for a lot of the little, disparate ideas and actions we’ve done to date. In the context of leadership, I know I may sound simple – many much better leaders than me read daily. I think I was just struck by how transferrable this sort of “business” book was to hospitality, restaurants and even how I think about food.

Community has always been part of what we do – but lockdown has strengthened our resolve. When we re-opened, we launched our own riff on Eat Out to Help Out instead donating to SIFA Fireside to support the homeless – we’ll have raised over £5k in the first two months. Even though we have financial challenge, the emotional rewards for team and guest alike in doing something positive is massive. I think positivity is going to be so crucial to business recovery over coming months and years. We have to look at business as more about people and community than ever.

The Bad Post our strongest ever Q1 trading, in the midst of a full occupancy run, the Covid-19 pandemic shut us down. Dead.

Full stop. Down. We went dormant – leaving our restaurant, the beast, at rest for far too long. Through one of my other companies I did cookery lessons to fill the void, to give my

hands something to hold. I slept in my restaurant sometimes, I needed to be near it. To hear the creak of the century’s old beams, the way it smells, the gentle hum of fridge extraction fans. There is a poetry that, I guess gets lost in the movement.

My restaurant is beautiful when it’s sleeping, but even with furlough this has been a hugely costly nap for the business.

Like many of my peers, we dipped our toe into home delivery – diversification is a feral beast when it’s a forced not strategic choice right? We found, for us, it wasn’t possible to maintain our brand values and diversify in that way. I’ve tried to put into practice this year some of the guiding principles of Daniel Priestley’s books that made a profound impression on me – see the good list above. If we can’t do something in a remarkable way, it’s not something we’ll do. And that might mean saying no to opportunity where we could still make the sale. We’re not infallible and we still have times where we stray, but it’s a great guiding principle. I’m excited to see who finally cracks the “chef box” format – balancing making it remarkable and profitable. It wasn’t us, we missed both.

We also launched the right product, but at the wrong time.

Our patron scheme launched in August – a membership model built around unique experiences and a weekend away with the restaurant team is, I firmly believe, an interesting offering and will have a market eventually. Only problem is in a pandemic with no ability to commit to future plans, the market just wasn’t ready. We secured maybe a quarter of the expected uptake – which is still a brilliant level of support for a product that has no market – but we learnt our lesson.

Whatever fear and panic I’m living with; it turns out demand and supply remain untouched!

The Ugly As I sit here writing this, we do so with the loom spectre of another lockdown and the fresh off the idiot press tier 2 measures for the city. I’ve continued working with the Mayor and regional policy makers and I’m trying to channel “the fear” into helping both my own business and the city.

I need to be clear though – the current status quo will kill this industry. There is only so much adapting and evolving that any business can do, particularly when the core of our industry is people, connection and sharing. How do we keep the hospitality in hospitality? Against the raft of draconian measures, we are in real danger of removing so much from the industry that all that is left is but a shell. As restrictions tighten so many of us will have to tap out long before formally mandated close.

What we need, right now, is comprehensive and pragmatic support packages that recognise that being open isn’t enough.

We must, together, navigate our way back to normal, but if there isn’t the right support for hospitality there will be nothing left, and, I don’t know about you, but if there’s no restaurants or pubs for me to return to, that’s not a normal worth fighting for.

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Downtown Monthly

L AUNCH AFTER LOCKDOWN - Lerpwl opens in the Dock Words by:

Liam Barrie Restaurateur & Co-Founder Lerpwl

The acknowledgment was that we would learn a lot as we embarked on the opening of Lerpwl. For Ellis and myself, it was the accumulation of 10 years of work, learning about the restaurant industry, and learning about ourselves in equal measures. Lerpwl is us, it isn’t our name on the face of someone else’s project. We knew we were taking on the biggest project of our professional development, we couldn’t have anticipated the scale of the challenges we would face.

The obstacles faced have been unprecedented, but so too has been the cooperation and support experienced whilst witnessing the hospitality industry being gutted by COVID-19 and the consequent Government actions.

Back in March, the Government implemented the ‘lock-down’, halting the completion and launch of Lerwpl, that had to wait until September. In that time we had to learn what the new face of hospitality would look like, to foresee how the industry would re-emerge from the Government imposed lockdown and operate in a field of new restrictions.

At this stage, our existing business, The Marram Grass, our new business Lerpwl and the way we imagined our business structure, how the businesses interacted with each other, and support the teams

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involved, all completely disintegrate.

Government support delivered us time to work things out, but with teams on furlough and a new trading environment yet to emerge it was very much a moment of purgatory, The pressure that we have faced has not simply been entrenched in the moral obligation to carry forward our teams and the remnants of our once successful business, hospitality has found itself in the focus due to its significance within the wider economy. Prime real estate, city finance, HR services, and the employment of almost four million people all over the country all revolve around hospitality and it’s a culture of service.

Many of our relationships have evolved in how we mutually respond to the COVID-19 challenge and its force in making new ways of working together. The shared responsibility of our finance providers and landlords has been staggering. Those sectors and businesses willing to innovate in their interactions with a new hospitality model acknowledge the staggering threat faced to our whole economy if the industry sinks. It isn’t just the chains that we’re talking about, arguably it is in the independents that are better faced to survive with the right support

and backing, offering employment in the remotest parts of the country and acknowledgment of the importance of their contributions to service companies in the cities.

In contrast, not all associated businesses have adopted a new outlook and shared responsibility for the challenge ahead. A prominent HR company instigated legal proceedings over a disputed monthly payment with barely a blink, the irony of a ‘personal touch’ and ‘helping us get back to business’ has not been lost on us!

Such a sense of entitlement confirms my dedication to forging a future built on cooperation and recognition of the value of genuine business partnerships.

We have witnessed our restaurant launch period dissipate from being at +80% occupancy across the initial 3 month period to -70% occupancy. Each new restriction imposed has shattered customer confidence and diminished potential takings, yet the level of support required, not to replace the lost revenue, but to keep afloat, has not materialised.

The Job Support Scheme helps but it doesn’t financially support businesses; the central government grants don’t go far enough to protect businesses that haven’t been closed. The big issue for the industry is the debts that have been deferred, whether via debt moratorium,

Downtown Monthly

the HMRC deferral of VAT, or personal negotiations. This is the ticking timebomb at the heart of the hospitality industry. At the moment the industry is positioned merely as a mechanism to feed the landlords and financial/ HR service sectors.

to work considerately and slowly, to learn and adapt to new policies and rules and also police itself and customers, all whilst relying on realising every penny to meet the demands of the areas that central government support has not yet reached.

To affect change the Government should provide multiple points of support.

Considering the initial levels of support, hospitality is still facing huge pressure to meet the demands of associated industries. Deferrals of rent and tax still overhanging the performances as we accrue new, expected overheads. The hospitality industry is being encouraged

A new collaborative approach to working with the hospitality industry is required, that is why we must support the calls for a new role in the Minister of Hospitality. Hospitality is not the end of the food chain, with costs and demands to be passed onto customers, hospitality is part of the conversation in a post covid thriving economy. It is not just

the chef and the restaurateur that puts the food on the plate, there is a whole team of people on the ground, there are contributing services from designers, musicians, taxi drivers, florists, butchers, fishmongers, farmers.

Now the long winter is upon us and the Government is acting as it has the collaboration of nations, regions, cities, and councils for the economy is paramount. The hospitality ‘economy’ being both international and local needs nations, regions, and cities to work it out! The very collapse of ‘the food chain’ is at stake!!

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Downtown Monthly

An Open Letter to the

LCR CORPORATE COMMUNITY

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Downtown Monthly

On behalf of Liverpool Hospitality, a non-for-profit organization dedicated to representing the collective voice of LCR Hospitality Industry, we call for your support.

2020 is going to be remembered as one of the hardest ever chapters in human history. There is no denying that it has been a challenging year for everyone. We have all been affected by this ongoing situation, however, we have not all been affected in the same way; some people and businesses have struggled more than others.

It is common knowledge that one of the most profoundly affected industries by COVID-19 has been Hospitality. Despite being classified as ‘non-essential’, we employ over 50,000 people in the LCR and we contribute to over £4bn to the local economy on average every year. Our industry also supports wider supply chains that rely heavily on our businesses. So, when we talk about being one of the worst industries affected; we mean jobs, livelihoods, families and people from our industry and beyond.

Our city region is world famous for its thriving culture and strong sense of community due to the warm, welcoming and caring personality of our people. We stick together and support each other through the good times and find strength in adversity.

We hope you know that you can

count on us, as much as we know we can count on you and that is why we are reaching out.

Humans are social beings and therefore the role of Hospitality in society is more than just creating jobs; we enable people to experience and build happier memories with their loved ones. Yes, technology has proven to be a great tool to help communicate with each other and work remotely, but it will never be able to replicate the feeling of togetherness and belonging that only real human connection provide and real experiences facilitate.

Keeping our community safe and supporting the NHS is our priority and we can guarantee that we are doing everything in our power to keep our venues safe for everyone. Nevertheless; operating at a reduced capacity, observing a curfew, additional safety measures, new equipment and technologies, training, re-training...These all come at a cost and they all require investment of both money and time – both which are getting scarcer and scarcer forcing more and more of our hospitality venues to close their doors.

We are fighting to keep our staff in their jobs to be able to hang on in there. So when we all meet at the other end, our businesses are going to be there to welcome you all back for those after work drinks,

unforgettable Christmas parties, special birthday and anniversary celebrations, celebratory graduation ceremonies, memorable wedding receptions... But for this to become a reality in the future, we need all the support that we can get, now.

There is no doubt that Christmas will be very different this year, but that does not mean it has to be cancelled. The festive season is always one of the most exciting times of the year for everybody and Christmas parties have been a great way to recognise employees’ hard work. We know this will not be possible this December, but there is a way of keeping this tradition alive.

This year, the small act of gifting your employees with hospitality gift vouchers will go a long way in supporting the businesses that make our region such a destination.

Most of our vouchers are valid for one year and although we do not expect everyone to redeem them straight away, this simple gesture will have a hugely positive impact on our businesses now whilst giving us hope and prospects for the future - one where COVID is no longer a threat to our society and the LCR will be thriving once again.

We thank you immensely for your continued support and we know we will get through this, together.

Sincerely, Marcus Magee Liverpool Hospitality Chair

Paul Askew Liverpool Hospitality Co-chair

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Downtown Monthly

he festive season is almost upon us. And what is a festive season without sharing it with your friends bubbles?

At Downtown in Business we have collated some of the best hospitality offers for you and your bubbles/households to enjoy from some of the leading venues across the Downtown network in Birmingham, Cheshire, Lancashire, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Manchester.

Hospitality was there for you when we wanted to ‘Eat Out to Help Out’, now let’s be there for hospitality and spread some Christmas cheer.

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Downtown Monthly

CHR I S T MAS MAGIC AT MALMAISON -

Sign up below and become a member by visiting: https:/ thealchemist.uk.com/apply/ to receive 20% off food whenever you book with us. Once registered, please visit our members page to make your first & future bookings.

Welcome to the circle!

‘Tis the season to Malmaison.

So lap up two nights of festive luxury. Be greeted with a bottle of Malmaison Champagne awaiting you in your room, followed by a delightful three course dinner on Christmas Eve. Then awake to a full breakfast and a four course festive lunch on Christmas Day with a glass of Champagne to continue the festivities. Then it’s time to chill and prepare yourself for a Boxing day brunch with a glass of prosecco.

Sounds magical? Yes, we agree. https://www.malmaison.com/offers/ rooms/christmas-2-nights-2020/

G E T 50% OFF DAS H’S AU T UMN MENU -

HOPE S T. ADVANCE D PURCHASE OF F ER -

Sign up to Dash’s newsletter for 50% off their autumn winter menu. https://dashrestaurants.co.uk/ newsletter-sign-up/

Save up to 15% with Hope Street Hotel’s advanced purchase offer. https://www.hopestreethotel.co.uk/ offers/advance-purchase-offer/51-70/

JOI N T HE ALCH E M I S T CI RCLE -

R E VOLU T ION DE CU BA COCKTAI L PACKAGES -

Neighbou rhood Li verpool& Leeds of f er 50% of f Neighbourhood Liverpool and Leeds are offering 50% off their main menu in both their Liverpool and Leeds venues.

Offered Monday - Thursday 4pm 8pm last sitting 50 % off the main menu and soft drinks. - This does include Steaks and Tomahawks.

To book please contact danielle. bowers@neighbourhoodrestaurant. co.uk

Brookly n Wonder Break It’s the big trip, the big celebration, the big night-out, the big trip to the Big Apple…without flying! Rooms from £139 including overnight stay, mini hooch bag, 2 cocktails, breakfast, £40 F&B voucher and Afternoon Tea for two! https://www.hotelbrooklyn.co.uk/ special-offers/

Bring the party home with Revolution De Cuba’s cocktail packages or purchase their gift vouchers. https://shop. revoluciondecuba.com/

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Downtown Monthly

G e t food and dri n k cre di t w h e n you work at Duci e S t re e t For £50 per week, our ground floor can be your office. Your pass also gets you £10 credit per day at Counter so that’s lunch or after work drinks sorted; as well as batch coffee/tea on us all day too. Day passes are also available at £12 per person and you’ll still benefit from that trusty £10 credit to spend as you’d like. There’s no need to book, just turn up. We also have small meeting and event facilities in our private rooms fully equipped with the highest tech-spec. For all enquiries please contact: Jay.abbott@nativeplaces.com.

F rom Bom bay wi th love Treat your team to a Bombay breakfast with Dishoom’s Bacon or Vegan Naan Roll Kits, which contain all the ingredients (and know-how) to make a first-rate breakfast (with chai!) for two in the comfort of your own home.

For group orders, kindly email rebecca@dishoom.com

Discover gaucho Win e s Discover a range of both popular and unique, delicious wines from all over the world including some which are specially sourced from Argentina. Our carefully chosen, in-restaurant wines can be enjoyed in the comfort of your own home via our delivery service, whether you are ordering for yourself or a friend, colleague or loved one. https://www.gauchorestaurants.com/ wines/

T h e Bull & Bear Mone tary G i f t Enjoy a unique experience within the exquisite settings of The Bull & Bear and select the value you wish to spend. https://stockexchangehotel. vouchercart.com/14619/the-bullbear-monetary-gift

Gi ve the gif t of social darts Add some joy to your festive celebrations with a cocktail or two (or three) and a bit of friendly competition. https:// flightclubdarts.com/birmingham/ book?edit=true&group_ size=6&date=2020-1201&type=none

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Pu rva Karma Massage at t h e belf ry Two therapists work in synchronised harmony for the ultimate in spiritual bliss. h t t p s : / / t h e b e l f r y. s k c h a s e . c o m / vouchers/purva-karma-massagefor-one

Downtown Monthly

BOT TOM LE S S BR U NCH at los t & fou nd -

park regi s PARADISE SPA PACKAG E -

a u niqu e experience at s tock exchange -

The best way to brunch is bottomless. Choose a breakfast/ brunch dish of your choice from our menu and enjoy with unlimited Mimosas, Aperol Spritz, Prosecco by the glass or Bloody Marys. https://vouchers.giftvouchersolutions. c o m / Vo u c h e r S a l e s / C h o o s e . aspx?c=LF423

Treat two people to a night of relaxation, starting off with a 25 minute spa treatment in Shakina Spa followed by a 2 course meal and a bottle of wine in our 1565 Restaurant and not forgetting breakfast the next day! https:// parkregisbirmingham.skchase.com/ vouchers/24958fe5-bec1-b1ae-96eae441ced23b25/paradise-spa-package

Enjoy a unique experience within the exquisite settings of Stock Exchange Hotel. You can spend your voucher towards an overnight stay or dining at Bull & Bear. https:// stockexchangehotel.vouchercart.com

t reat som eon e sp ecial to hot el du v in Treat someone special to something truly stylish. A Hotel du Vin gift card is valid in our beautiful hotels across the country, our divine bistros, our spas and also at our sister company Malmaison. h t t p s : / / w w w. h o t e l d u v i n . c o m / vouchers/

t he i deal gif t from opus Opus gift vouchers are ideal gifts. And so simple! https://www. opusrestaurant.co.uk/opus-giftvouchers/

SMALL CARD. EN DLESS POSSIBILI TIES. Individual Restaurants Gift Cards make the perfect gift for friends & family and can be easily redeemed in any of our restaurants, bars or terraces, for dining throughout the day or evening. https:// therestaurantbarandgrill.com/giftcard/

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S TAY IN GOT HAM !

Ms Connie Crumpsall, our socialite extraordinaire, invites you to reserve your next stay and be entertained in a true Gotham style! https://www.hotelgotham.co.uk/ offers/view/25/stay-in-gotham

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Downtown Monthly

Words by:

Rob Binns Managing Director Cotton Court

Think slow, move fast Working for yourself for over 15 years, having staff and various business interests across different sectors, and managing to have a good go at it, means that you have seen and experienced a few challenges along the way.

I could have, hand on heart, said nothing in business was ever a surprise‌ then along comes the surprise of all surprises. COVID-19, the invisible challenge, which refuses to state its target, its intention or reveal how it can be overcome, strolls in and takes a seat in the room whilst we all sit and watch, half asleep.

With my commercial landlord hat on, renting office space, virtual services, conference and training facilities to PLCs, public sector and SMEs, managing the impact of the pandemic has been like a giant game of Jenga. The traditional approach to fiscal pressure is to contract, retreat and pass the pain down the line hoping you can live to

fight another day without regard for those behind you whilst blaming those before you. However, the fiscal impact of this pandemic is like no other as there is nobody to blame and wag your finger at, as everyone is in the same, inconceivable boat.

Others needed to reduce, pause or end services, but the key was one size didn’t fit all, so we supported each client differently (maybe something our friends in Westminster may choose to consider) and put their requirements at the centre of our actions.

We are a customer service business at heart, and after a lot of brainstorming and with every good move causing our business Jenga tower to crash a few moves later, we decided just not to play. We went back to our most basic principles and focused on our customer’s needs. We acted fast and spoke with our clients, some had fortunately flourished due to the nature of their business and needed more space and services.

With constant changes in guidance from government and the wider global leadership community, it is important to think slowly, be strategic and remain customer centric with every business decision. However, once that decision is made, swift execution is key so it can be implemented, not giving the ground a chance to move beneath your feet.

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Manchester Central Partners with Sterling Event Group to Launch New Virtual Event Solution Manchester Central and Sterling Event Group have teamed up to launch “Live from the Auditorium”, a virtual event solution that provides an interactive live streaming experience from a professional studio setting.

Unique to the city centre and housed within Manchester Central’s purposebuilt 800-seat Auditorium, a selfcontained event space within the venue’s Exchange Suite, the solution is designed to facilitate a virtual or hybrid event.

the reassurance that their live broadcast will be of the highest quality, will be engaging and will run smoothly from start to finish – eliminating the risk of technical difficulties that are, more often than not, experienced during video calls!

The venue’s COVID-secure space allows businesses to host a small live audience at the venue, in line with current Government restrictions, whilst streaming professional, broadcastquality content in real-time; engaging, entertaining and communicating with audiences wherever they are across the globe. Alternatively, content can be prerecorded ready for broadcast at a later date.

“It’s the perfect way to bring people together to learn and do business in a time when, unfortunately, the events we know and love can’t take place.

The live studio experience is supported

by Manchester Central’s experienced in-house events team and the expert production crew at Sterling Event Group, who will be on hand to ensure everything runs smoothly and safely from beginning to end.

Shaun Hinds, Chief Executive at Manchester Central said: “We’re really excited about the launch of our new “Live from the Auditorium” experience.

During these extraordinary times, we believe it is even more vital for businesses to continue to communicate and engage with employees, customers and peers, and this experience offers them the opportunity to do just that from a ‘live’ studio setting, creating a fun, slick and professional virtual experience.

“The studio package includes sound, lighting, screens and live camera systems, all operated by a dedicated events and production team, providing clients with

“We’re delighted to offer an alternative solution at a time when live event capacities are limited, and we’re confident that this virtual solution will be a great addition to our live event services going forward.”

Speaking about the NHS, Shaun continued: “At Manchester Central we stand shoulder to shoulder with our colleagues at the NHS Nightingale Hospital North West and will continue to support the operations at the hospital to aid the UK’s response to COVID-19.

The event industry has been pivotal in the construction and operation of the NHS Nightingale hospitals and when the call came, we responded without hesitation.

This is in stark contrast to the response we have received from the government.

The events industry has yet to receive the essential support required for the survival of our unique and extremely valuable sector.

The Prime Minister has frequently quoted the value of events to the UK economy; however his words have yet to be backed by tangible options that are necessary for the industry to survive the economic challenges that accompany this health crisis.

As a major UK events venue, we will continue to do everything we can to push for this government support and advocate for our incredible industry – an industry that we know can be absolutely instrumental in the economic recovery of the nation, as long as it is protected now.”

Richard Bowden, Managing Director at Sterling Event Group said: “We are delighted to partner with Manchester Central to offer a turnkey solution that enables event organisers the opportunity to deliver slick and engaging virtual or hybrid events.

“The purpose-built auditorium offers immense flexibility from a production perspective allowing us to facilitate a wide range of presentation styles and set designs.”

For more information about this experience at Manchester Central and how the live broadcast solution can integrate with your existing virtual platforms, please visit www. manchestercentral.co.uk/live-auditorium

The talent, capability and attitude that is characteristic of the events industry is at risk of being lost, if not forever, for many years to come.

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Financial services firm Sedulo will be the headline sponsor for the eighteenth annual ‘Livercool’ gala awards dinner.

The event, which has sold out in record time this year, celebrates the most successful entrepreneurs, decision-makers and companies from across the Liverpool City Region.

Sedulo, who are due to launch their Liverpool office in the Autumn, creating up to 30 new jobs in the city, are one of the leading professional services businesses in the country, having established the Sedulo brand in Manchester, Leeds and London.

The Managing Director of Sedulo Paul Cheetham said:

“We are delighted to be opening a Liverpool office and excited to be working in another of the UK’s most vibrant cities. We want to integrate ourselves into Liverpool’s business community as quickly as possible, so I am delighted that we have been able to take the opportunity of sponsoring one of the city’s most prestigious awards events.”

The chief executive of Downtown in Business Frank McKenna said:

“We have worked closely with Paul Cheetham and his team for a number of years in Manchester and Leeds. Like DIB, Sedulo is disruptive, innovative and an agent for change. They are a very different type of business is the financial services space and I am sure that they will enjoy great success in Liverpool. I am delighted that we have secured them as a headline sponsor for ‘Livercool’ 2020.”

Accountancy firm CJM Associates will be the headline sponsor for the unique hybrid event ‘The City of Birmingham Business Conference + Awards 2020’, which will take place on the afternoon of Thursday 26th November 2020.

Each year Downtown in Business delivers the City of Birmingham Business Awards, celebrating the very best business leaders, community contributors and entrepreneurs of the region.

This year, in-line with government restrictions on Thursday the 26th of November, we are hosting the City of Birmingham Conference held at the secure and stylish Park Regis. The afternoon will consist of a regional conference including participation from Professor Carl Chinn, Ed James (Heart), Andy Wheelan (LoveBrum) and more to be announced. Discussions will be on post pandemic Brum, culminating in a reflection on our achievements as a city as we announce The City of Birmingham’s award winners as chosen by the judges and public. There will be limited availability for this live hybrid event, all precautions have been taken to ensure delegate safety.

Craig Moore, Director at CJM Associates commented: “We are delighted to be headline sponsors this year, after sponsoring an award last year. Downtown in Business have been innovative in their approach in a challenging time, that is synonymous with our approach in the accountancy and business world. We felt it was a great time to support them and the city of Birmingham by sponsoring such a prestigious event.”

Downtown Birmingham’s Abby Goldie remarked: “We are delighted to be hosting this unique hybrid to keep the Birmingham business community updated on the latest news from what has been an extraordinary year.

It is an event that I’m sure will be of great benefit to everyone and I am delighted that CJM will be our headline sponsors for this exciting conference. It has been an incredibly challenging year for businesses up and down the country and DIB are delighted to be able to hopefully share some positivity as we celebrate some business heroes.”

For further information on attending contact abby.goldie@downtowninbusiness.com

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