Those in Belfast hospitality industry have said more needs to be done to support businesses as they are struggling to breakeven due to constant rising costs they face.
"Since Covid-19, we’ve worked hard to build a sustainable recovery in the face of soaring overheads including energy, rates, food and labour and this is another huge additional cost.” They highlighted how 75% of their revenue goes towards staffing and food costs, with the remainder meant to cover bills, rates and tax, leaving them with very low margins.
"When I look across all of our restaurants we are very lucky to make any profit at the end of the month, and that is when we have been fairly busy and a month where trading is down a bit can have a huge impact on a business. Colin Neill, Chief Executive, Hospitality Ulster said: “At what point do Governments actually start to realise the pressure that the hospitality sector is under here?