Eat Out to Help Out: Restaurants unsure about future as meal discount scheme ends today

New figures show trade in restaurants double on two days last week compared to same period last year as Britons take full advantage of meal discount

Staff at the Ivy Victoria in London, prepare the dining area, as the government initiative Eat Out to Help Out comes to an end (PA)

The government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which offered diners subsidised meals at restaurants and cafes across the country in August, is set to end on Monday after receiving high praise from the establishments it aimed to help.

Many venues and business groups have called for the scheme to be extended, while some restaurants have decided to extend the discount into September and bear the cost themselves.

According to the Treasury, over 64 million meals have been claimed so far on the scheme, which offers diners 50 per cent off meals from Mondays to Wednesdays at participating restaurants, up to a maximum of £10.

Figures from booking website OpenTable showed the number of diners eating out on two days last week were more than double the amount eating at restaurants on the same days last year.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak thanked diners and restaurants for making the scheme a success.

He said: “As the Eat Out to Help Out scheme draws to a close, I want to say thank you to the diners who have fallen back in love with their local, to the managers who spent weeks ensuring their restaurants were safe and to the chefs, waiters and waitresses across the country who have worked tirelessly, sometimes with more customers than they’ve ever had before – all helping to protect 1.8 million jobs in the hospitality sector.

“The scheme reminded us why we as a nation love dining out and I urge diners to maintain the momentum to help continue our economic recovery.”

Around 80 per cent of hospitality businesses stopped trading in April during the coronavirus lockdown, with 1.4 million employees furloughed, the highest of any sector.

Figures from YouGov show that 50 per cent of people who used the scheme to have sit-in meals throughout August intend to dine out the same amount or more often once it ends – but the sector remains nervous that its benefits may be short-lived.

The Federation of Small Businesses last week called for the scheme to be extended for areas affected by localised lockdowns, while the chief executive of pub chain Greene King told the BBC the government should consider a similar scheme for city centres, which continue to see low levels of footfall.

Nick MacKenzie, chief executive of Greene King, said: “While a lot of our businesses were 50 per cent, 70 per cent, 90 per cent up year-on-year, central London was about 30 per cent down. It is pretty stark.

“I’ve called for the government to think about maybe doing a similar scheme for city centres and for London. We need to get people back into cities particularly into central London.”

A number of restaurants have chosen to offer deals to customers to keep business flowing through September.

Restaurant chains including Pizza Hut, Bill’s, Wetherspoons, and Brindisa will continue to offer the 50 per cent discount, as well as some independent businesses.

The scheme was one part of Mr Sunak’s Plan for Jobs, which was announced last month to help boost the UK’s economic recovery. The plan also includes cutting VAT for tourism and hospitality by 15 per cent, a £2 billion Kickstart Scheme and £8.8 billion investment in new infrastructure, decarbonisation and maintenance projects.