When it comes to professional sport, the media continues to be dominated by questions about the timing of the Premier League's return. The short answer is basically no-one really has a clue, but offering up that response won’t help sell papers or attract viewers. However, given that most players made their way back to their palatial training grounds last week, the signs look positive for a re-start within the next month or so. But spare a thought for the cricketer. This is supposed to be their time to shine. England’s finest should be taking on the West Indies next week in the first Test of the summer. Instead, there will be no professional cricket until at least 1 July, with recreational cricket remaining suspended until further notice. Plans are being drawn up to salvage some of the schedule, even if it is only the international fixtures. What seems certain, however, is that any action we see will be cricket not quite as we know it. Not only will there be an absence of spectators (is that any different for the county game already, you may well ask?), but international matches are likely to take place in a 'bio-secure' environment. Fielding sides will not be able to use saliva to shine the ball, and neutral umpires will not be required to jet around the globe. Clearly there are far greater things to worry about at present than cricket, but with the sun shining, it feels such a shame that the season immediately following England’s glorious World Cup victory may well be lost without a single ball being bowled. Perhaps the game’s organisers should consider giving junior cricket priority over adult matches? This may ensure all those children who ‘caught the cricket bug’ do not drift away from the game because of a year of inactivity.
In a week when crunch negotiations between Travelodge and their landlords continued over non-payment of rents in an effort to stave off another CVA, and the owner of the Premier Inn hotel chain started raising £1bn from its shareholders to strengthen its finances, it seems an appropriate time to ‘check-in’ on the UK hotel investment market. Despite investment activity being dampened by Brexit-related uncertainty and a turbulent political landscape, UK hotel investment volumes reached £6bn last year, characterised by strong demand from investors seeking long term, secure income streams. But that was then, and this is now. Yields have already softened significantly since March 2020, unsurprising really given there is still no clarity on when hotels will be allowed to re-open, let alone start making a profit. So, what next for the sector? Well, according to Core Five’s Webinar last week, all hope should not be lost. The budget hotel sector is usually pretty resilient and should be able to take advantage of the looming recession as guests become increasingly cost conscious. Further, their limited service provision may make social distancing easier to administer too. And continuing on a positive note, Knight Frank’s recent research on the speed at which the UK hotel market has recovered following previous major events, such as the economic downturns in 2001 and 2009, SARS and Brexit, provides further hope for a reasonably swift return to positive growth figures. Fingers crossed all round.
Tomorrow marks the start of a key period in the culinary calendar, the 24th National BBQ Week, a week aimed at promoting and growing the BBQ market. And in all fairness, they have made a decent stab at it given that the sector's growth has been pretty startling in recent years, increasing from nine million ‘occasions’ in 1997 to an estimated 138 million last year. The overall at-home alfresco eating and entertaining plus BBQ market is now worth just over £7.6 billion, up from £150 million back in 1997. Ahead of tomorrow, Weber (other quality BBQ brands do exist!) has released its latest market report, and unsurprisingly, given we are all stuck at home, barbecuing has never been more popular. The UK is now equal with Germany, until now Europe’s leading BBQ nation. And, perhaps rather surprisingly, it is no longer the male-dominated activity it has been perceived to be. In fact, we Brits are now becoming much more gender-neutral when it comes to taking charge of the tongs, with men accounting for 54% of all BBQ occasions, down 6% over the last three years. Whilst we would all like to think we have mastered the art of cooking some chicken or burning a sausage, evidence would suggest that the people of Greater Manchester need to up their BBQ etiquette and safety knowledge, having been crowned the worst place in the UK for BBQ-related fires last year. Perhaps they need a slogan to remind them of what they need to do? How about ‘Stay at Home. Protect the Fire Brigade. Save Lives’?