The data shows sales from the start of April 2020 to the end of March 2021 totalled £46Bn, down by 64% on £126.8Bn in the previous 12 months. The drop of £80.8Bn is equivalent to around £220m of sales lost every day - or more than £9m every hour.
Many venues have been unable to trade for the majority of the past year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Some restaurants, pubs and bars have been limited to deliveries and takeaways throughout the first quarter of 2021.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, commented: “It has been a catastrophic year for the sector and we are by no means out of the woods yet. Hospitality’s ability to reopen will remain massively hampered until the Government delivers on its commitment to dropping Covid restrictions and measures on 21st June.
“Hospitality can help power the national economic recovery, providing jobs to people who have lost them, bring people back together for safe socialising and continue to serve those most in need in communities all over Britain.
“To do this however, we need to operate without the stranglehold of restrictions, and for the Government to work with the sector on a recovery plan.
“Our sector has suffered around 660,000 job losses in the last year. The increase in unemployment, particularly among younger age groups, underlines the importance of the Government to drop further restrictions on our ability to socialise and do business.”