UK: Last night the Central London Alliance held an open forum in Westminster, which featured six panels addressing the challenges and opportunities facing London’s economy.
Called London – Opportunities and Obstacles For Growth, the event was hosted by Tony Matharu, CEO of Blue Orchid Hotels, City AM editor-in-chief Christian May and IHM editor-in-chief George Sell.
Sell moderated two panels – one on hospitality, travel and tourism; and one on planning, property and infrastructure.
The hospitality panel featured Kate Nicholls of UKHospitality, Tony Matharu, Piers Brown of IHM and Jessica Berk Ross of Finn Partners.
The UK hospitality sector faces significant challenges due to disproportionate policy changes, including increased business rates, energy costs, and employment taxes. The sector contributes £3.4 billion per annum to the national tax take, with 75 per cent of profits going to the exchequer, making it the most highly taxed sector. The budget led to a loss of 100,000 jobs across hospitality. The government’s policies are seen as undervaluing the sector’s economic importance.
Topics discussed:
- Impact of recent policy changes on the hospitality sector
- Shift from volume to value in the hospitality sector
- Impact of business rates, energy prices, and national insurance changes on the sector, noting a significant increase in business rates for large statistics.
- Challenges in attracting and retaining talent
- Government policies and their impact on the sector
Main takeaways:
- Advocate for the government to recognise the importance of the hospitality sector and address the disproportionate impact of policy changes on the industry
- London doesn’t need more visitors as much as it needs better-balanced ones. The goal is higher yield per guest — encouraging longer stays, higher-spending travellers, and experiences. Think “quality tourism” — wellness, culture, gastronomy, local immersion — not “mass throughput”
- Investigate solutions to address infrastructure challenges and improve the ease of getting around London for businesses and visitors.
- Work with the government to address the high cost of debt and access to financing for hospitality businesses.
- Collaborate with the government to develop and fund training programs to support the hospitality industry’s workforce and career development.
The final panel on property, planning and infrastructure discussed the challenges and solutions in the UK’s planning system. The speakers were Alexander Jan, Business Improvement Districts; Andrew Hilston, Ardent; Michael Forward, Populous; Nick Delaney, Daniel Watney; and Annabel Singh, City of London Corporation.
Key points included the need for more planning officers, with the government pledging to recruit an extra 300, which equates to just one per local authority. The City of London’s high planning approval rate (96 per cent) was highlighted, contrasting with other areas. Housing targets were debated, with a gap between the 88,000 annual target for London and the current delivery rate of 40,000. The Building Safety Act’s impact on development pipelines was noted, along with the need for consistent planning policies across boroughs. The discussion emphasised the importance of innovation, collaboration, and addressing resource constraints to improve the planning system.
Main takeaways:
- Explore ways to utilise technology to speed up manual planning processes
- Investigate the possibility of local authorities accessing the £8 billion in unspent funds collected via the CIL regime to support the planning system
- Strengthen the recognition of central London’s economic importance in policy
- Reconnect local authorities to the tax base generated by development, to better align growth incentives
- Review and potentially relax some planning policies to enable a more collaborative and community-focused approach
