Glass half-empty outlook? Pub sector drowning in its sorrows

Has lockdown left hospitality firms with a bitter taste?

On Friday 16 October, Wetherspoons revealed its first loss since 1984. Feeling angry and disappointed, founder Tim Martin took his opportunity to hammer home a simple message: the UK pub trade has been disproportionately targeted by Covid-19 restrictions.

With Wetherspoons suffering a £105.4m loss, Martin criticised the UK's coronavirus measures as an "ever-changing raft of ill-thought-out regulations."  He also told shareholders the UK should follow the Swedish model of lighter restrictions.   Martin's style might not be to everyone's taste, but many in the leisure trade will have felt some sympathy for his argument. Thousands of licensed premises have already gone to the wall and the sector has spent millions on hygiene and social distancing measures - only to watch in dismay as other industries with looser restrictions see higher...