21 million missing pints

Dry bank holiday?

The sun has finally come out, but pubs are still expecting to sell 21 million fewer pints than normal this bank holiday weekend. The rain has put a damper on pub reopenings, and social distancing measures mean they can’t accept as many punters. They’re calling for all restrictions to end on 21st June - but with cases of the Indian variant rising, the decision seems to be hanging in the balance.

Mortgage support scheme

Lenders have warned that struggling homeowners are slipping into arrears† while they wait for mortgage support to kick in. The Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) scheme helps homeowners on benefits by paying the interest on mortgages of up to £200,000. But homeowners have to wait 39 weeks after losing their job to make a claim, and lenders say it’s too late for many.

Indoor dining

Brits flocked to restaurants after indoor dining restarted on 17th May, making 32% more bookings than the same period in 2019. The proportion of employees on furlough fell to 8% in the first 2 weeks of May according to the Office for National Statistics. That’s the lowest since the start of the year.

London loses confidence

Business confidence has risen to a 5-year high in the UK - but dipped in London. The Lloyds Bank Business Barometer measures how optimistic firms are feeling about the economy. National optimism has climbed to 38%, but the post-lockdown buzz has faded in the capital where optimism has dropped to 24%.