London mayor wants alfresco dining to become permanent feature for capital as new analysis shows licensing changes could boost economy by £2bn a year: Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, has said he wants alfresco dining to become a permanent feature for the capital as new analysis shows government changes to licensing in London could help boost the economy by around £2bn a year. The mayor is set to receive new licensing powers from the government in the coming months that could allow Sir Sadiq to “call in” powers to decide licensing applications of strategic importance such as for key nightlife venues, supporting more alfresco dining and cutting bureaucratic red tape. The mayor has already shown his commitment to increasing outdoor dining and extending opening hours to offer more choice to Londoners and help support businesses, and earlier this year launched his £300,000 Summer Streets Fund. From today (Friday, 22 August), a wide range of restaurants, pubs and cafes in St Martin’s Lane in Westminster are offering outdoor tables for food and drinks across the street, thanks to the funding. The road will be car-free from 11am-11pm daily until the end of October and follows other programmes in Brixton, Leyton and Shoreditch. Sir Sadiq said: “I’m delighted alfresco dining and drinking has returned to St Martin’s Lane in the heart of the West End. I’m determined that our fantastic Summer Streets schemes are just the start of what’s to come for our capital and want to see alfresco dining become a permanent feature of our nightlife across London. Our new analysis shows that changes to licensing can boost our economy by billions each year and I’m committed to working with councils to support our restaurants, bars and cafes and unlock the full potential of our capital’s nightlife, as we build a better London for everyone.” Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, said: “A fit-for-purpose licensing regime that supports and incentivises businesses to invest and innovate is crucial to a thriving hospitality scene in the capital, and I'm pleased the mayor is taking the lead on this through his backing of alfresco dining.”
Hospitality leaders’ confidence nudges up, but new costs hit profits and jobs: The optimism of Britain’s hospitality leaders rose in the second quarter of 2025 despite the arrival of new labour costs, the latest Business Confidence Survey from CGA by NIQ and Sona reveals. The exclusive poll shows 41% of leaders feel optimistic about prospects for their business over the next 12 months – up by seven percentage points from the first quarter, and a second successive increase. The proportion of leaders feeling confident about the future of hospitality in general is lower at 18%, but rose by three percentage points quarter-on-quarter. Despite the recent uptick, leaders’ confidence remains at historically low levels. Their optimism for their own businesses is 15 percentage points down on the second quarter of 2024, and 29 percentage points below the levels of August 2021. Cautious confidence has been fuelled by stable spending in pubs, bars and restaurants in 2025. Just over half (53%) of leaders said revenue increased year-on-year over the second quarter – nearly double the 28% who said it dropped. However, increases are largely the result of higher menu prices and new openings, and the CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker has indicated broadly flat spending on a like-for-like basis in the first half of 2025. Meanwhile, higher costs have hurt the margins of many operators. More than a third (37%) of leaders said their second-quarter profits were down year-on-year, while only 27% said they rose. This has left 9% of leaders with no cash reserves to draw on, while 53% have fewer than six months of reserves. More than four in five (84%) leaders said extra operating expenses have forced them to raise prices since April, while nearly half (48%) have reduced their staffing levels, 61% have cut hours available to their teams, and 34% have deferred pay increases. Two in five (41%) have cancelled investment plans.
