LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Young & Co said it could be forced to close all its bars as fellow pub operator Shepherd Neame called for further urgent government action to support businesses and workers.
Young's said it was too early to put a figure on the impact of the coronavirus crisis on its financial performance in the current year. The company has more than 200 pubs, most of which are in London which faces the prospect of an imminent government lockdown to limit the spread of Covid-19.

The company said it intended to keep its pubs open with guidelines on social distancing and strict health and hygiene measures. Young's said it would give tenants a rent holiday for three months beginning this week.

Young's said it expected some or all of its pubs to close but that it hoped this would be for a short time. Government relief on business rates will partly offset the financial impact of closures, it said.

Patrick Dardis, Young's chief executive, said: "Let's be in no doubt that with pub closures imminent, albeit hopefully for only a short period, all businesses in our sector will be severely impacted."

Shepherd Neame, the Kentish brewer and pub company, said trading would deteriorate rapidly after the government urged people to avoid pubs, restaurants and other venues. It said Chancellor Rishi Sunak's scrapping of business rates for hospitality businesses and offer of grants was welcome but too little.

"The overall provisions so far announced do not go far enough to support UK hospitality businesses," Shepherd Neame said. "We want immediate cancellation of all taxes and support for staff overheads."

The company said it was suspending rents from 16 March to support its tenants, cutting all avoidable capital spending and minimising other costs. It will cancel the interim dividend of 6p a share due on 2 April and the board will take a 20% pay cut.

Shepherd Neame's brewery will continue producing beer under strict access and hygiene controls. It will carry out deep cleans between shifts, impose distancing measures for workers and take their temperatures at the start and finish of each shift.

"The above actions are precautionary at this stage and will be reviewed on a weekly basis to preserve maximum headroom on our facilities and in the hope that we can return to normal business in the near future," the company said.

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