The Bank of England voted decisively to hold interest rates at 4.5%. The next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee on interest rates will be in May.
Our response
Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality, said: “It’s disappointing that the Bank of England has chosen to hold interest rates yet again. The precarious state of the economy is no secret, with the most recent GDP figures indicating the fragile state it’s in.
“It’s therefore vital to kickstart growth and hospitality has a unique potential to drive growth in communities across the nation, if it is properly backed.
“Businesses across our sector generate more than £140 billion in revenue each year, and provide work for more than 3.5 million people, but are shackled by soaring costs that are inhibiting growth.
“This will only get worse in April, when the sector will be hit by £3.4 billion every year in additional costs.
“Cuts to interest rates, as well as a delay to the impending lowering of the National Insurance Contributions threshold, is the bare minimum hospitality businesses need in order for them to continue to provide viable spaces for us to live, work and invest in.”
