Major restaurant brands such as Burger King, Caffè Nero, Subway, Nando’s, Pret and Wahaca have written a letter with the leadership of London Union Chief Executive Jonathan Downey to UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak about postponing payments.

The heads of major UK brands, led by Jonathan Downey, have sent a letter to UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak about the plan to save the food and drink sector. Noting that 2 million employees in the industry would save their jobs, Downey said: “This is a proposal for a nine-month #NationalTimeOut – a #NationalRentFree period for hospitality businesses, combined with a matching loan and interest payment postponement for landlords, as well as protection for them from covenant breach and debt security enforcement. This is a big idea that requires new legislation to enable businesses (commercial landlords and hospitality tenants), working together, to shape and create a national solution to the imminent threat of thousands of empty premises.” The founder of the Hospitality union said that property owners who failed to receive rent payments and were pushed into bank debt would also take a warm look at the offer. Signatories to the letter;

  • Alasdair Murdoch, chief executive, Burger King
  • Brandon Stephens, Founder Tortilla
  • Karen Jones, executive chair, Prezzo
  • Mark Selby, chief executive, Wahaca
  • Des Gunewardena, chief executive, D&D London
  • Michael Gardner, property director, Nando’s
  • Shamil Thakrar, chief executive, Dishoom
  • Will Beckett, chief executive, Hawksmoor
  • Nisha Katona, chief executive, Mowgli
  • Marcello Distefano, managing director, San Carlo Group
  • Andy Wenlock, managing director, Gordon Ramsay Group
  • Pano Christou, chief executive, Pret
  • Paul Campbell, chairman, GymBox
  • Charlie McVeigh, chairman, the Breakfast Club
  • Laura Harper-Hinton, Founder Caravan Restaurants
  • Jyotin Sethi, chief executive, JKS Restaurants
  • Simon Potts, chief executive, the Alchemist
  • David Page, chairman, Franco Manca
  • Peter Marks, chief executive, Deltic Group
  • Arjun Waney OBE
  • Jeremy Roberts, chairman, Living Ventures
  • Gerry Ford, global chief executive, Caffè Nero
  • Graham Cook, chief executive, All Star Lanes
  • Colin Hughes, UK country director, Subway
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