Nightclubs write to the prime minister

Following eight months of closure for the UK’s nightclub industry, a long list of admired operators have written to the prime minister to reiterate their concerns.

Unlike other hospitality businesses, which were able to trade over the summer months, nightclubs have not been able to open at all, resulting in zero revenue since March.

Last week, the nightclub industry, led by the #SaveNightclubs campaign group issued an open letter to Boris Johnson urging the government to act now or permanently lose the country’s nightclub sector and the enormous economic contribution it makes to the UK.

#SaveNightclubs open letter to Boris Johnson

Dear Prime Minister,

We are writing to you as a group of over one hundred nightclub owners, managers and workers whose businesses have now been closed for exactly 8 months this Friday. We urge the government to act now or permanently lose the country’s nightclub industry and the enormous economic contribution it makes to the UK.

We are writing this letter on behalf of the nightclub industry, a sector who employs circa 45,000 people – 72% of whom are under 25 years old. We are a proud part of British culture and crucial to the UK economy, generating £3bn a year in income. The nightclub industry proudly employs a huge spectrum of job roles including bartenders, DJs, performers, security, cleaners and more. Behind these stats are thousands of individual stories of hardship from people who feel like they have been forgotten.

Over the last 8 months, the industry has faced Lockdown 1, household and tiered restrictions and an impossible curfew of 10pm. Now, in the midst of a second national lockdown and the announcement of the furlough scheme extension until March 2021, this is likely to result in our venues closing for an entire year. Unlike hospitality and gyms who were able to trade over the summer months, we have not been able to open at all resulting in zero revenue since March.

Venues are facing mounting rent bills, ongoing running costs and the prospect of business rates in April 2021. We urge the government to prevent a devastating tsunami of job losses, a wipeout of future economic contributions and further ruin to towns and cities across the UK which are already on their knees.

So far:

Despite the government’s on-going support to sectors such as hospitality and gyms – nightclubs are the forgotten industry. Over 70% of people working in nightclubs are self employed and therefore were not eligible for the furlough scheme. No alternative financial support package has been proposed for the nightclub industry.

Stats:

Last month, #SaveNightclubs carried out a survey revealing that four in five nightclubs (81%) will be shut by Christmas unless the government urgently intervenes.

The #SaveNightclubs campaign calls on the government to:

• Provide a financial survival package beyond the Recovery Fund, helping the sector weather COVID’s impact and assist in future reopening
• Introduce protection from eviction for nightclubs during and immediately after the crisis
• Extend business rate relief to April 2022, enabling nightclubs to get back on their feet in 2021

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this letter.

Respectfully yours,

Vincenzo Sibilia and Asher Grant of #SaveNightclubs campaign group

Supported by the following venues:

The Box, Libertine, Cirque, Reign, Cuckoo, Luxx, Kadies, Maddox, Tape, Lotus, Tropix, 1OAk, Raffles, Albert, Beaufort house, MAHIKI, Toy room, Scotch, Mimi’s, Boneca, Twiga, Beat, Novikov, Above, Livello, Aveika, Husdone & atomic blonde, Kokomo, Bamboo Glasgow, Sanctuary, NTIA, Lesley, Lesley Welsh, G1 Group, Chelsea Lodge, The goat, 151 Club, Brendan Heggarty, Lolas, The Windmill, Wyld, Cirque le Soir, Cirque Manchester, Tokio Industry, Infernos, Koko, Cafe de Paris, Secrets, The Gaslight and Maddox.