The Scottish hospitality sector has started 2017 in a good place with Scottish pubs and restaurants reportedly at less risk of going bust than the rest of the UK, according to Insolvency and restructuring trade body, R3.
Scotland’s pubs are the most stable in the UK, with 17.8 per cent in the “higher-risk” band, against a UK average of 22.6 per cent – or almost one in four, found R3’s latest insolvency risk tracker.
Scotland’s restaurant sector put in the second best performance, with only 22.5% considered to be at higher than normal risk of insolvency, compared with a UK average of just under 24%.
But a fifth of Scotland’s hotels were deemed to be at higher than normal risk of insolvency – slightly above the UK average of 19.4%.
Tim Cooper, Chair of R3 in Scotland and a partner at HBJ Gateley in Edinburgh, said, “There’s plenty of good news to toast for Scotland’s pubs and restaurants, which outperformed the UK average.
“With the weakness of the pound making the UK a more attractive holiday destination for both foreign and domestic visitors, Scottish tourism could be on course for a prosperous 2017.”
He added, “It’s good to see Scottish firms significantly outperforming the UK average, However, as any businessperson knows, there’s no room for complacency.”