Hard Rock Café UK secures lifeline from US parent company to ride out restrictions

Hard Rock Café UK, famed for plastering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, has secured a lifeline from its US parent company to ride out the pandemic, as Boris Johnson looked set to delay a final ending to lockdown restrictions.

Accounts for the UK arm of the iconic chain, which operates sites in London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow and Newcastle, said it has received confirmation of continued financial support to enable it to operate for at least the next 12 months.

In addition, the firm signalled its long term confidence in London, extending the lease on its flagship site on Piccadilly until 2037.

Hard Rock's UK sites saw restaurant sales up 23% in 2019, latest results for the year to 31 December 2019 show.

Announcing the lease extension, directors wrote: "Even in the face of difficult macroeconomic and geopolitical factors impacting the global tourism economy, the directors believe the company is well placed to continue the recent financial performance."

Bosses said they expect that in a "post-Covid world, US and EU holidaymakers will likely take advantage of lower prices in the UK due to better exchange rates, causing a spike in tourism which will benefit the hospitality industry".

It came as businesses in the hospitality sector were on tenterhooks amid expectations that the planned ‘freedom day’ on June 21 will be delayed by up to a month.

Alistair Elliott, group chairman of property agent Knight Frank, said: “I believe it will be a massive blow for our town and city centres and our communities if the government does delay plans to release the constraints on opening up that have been planned for many months now.

“With no statistics suggesting any alarm and the vaccine roll out making such good progress, it appears completely illogical to, at this late stage,  delay opening up the economy further. Not only is a return to the work place long overdue but the momentum which has begun across may aspects of normal life will be hugely hampered just at the very time as the crucial summer trading months begin especially so for all in the food, beverage and hospitality sectors.

“Such a delay will, I suggest, be catastrophic for many businesses in these areas.”