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Panorama 2020 E47
Transcript
00:00Tonight on Panorama.
00:05No caller ID.
00:08Hello.
00:10The reality of businesses forced to the brink by Covid.
00:16I've learnt that it's not all about money,
00:20but it is about people, isn't it?
00:24What do you do when your customers are told to stay at home?
00:29We're down £2.5 million in cash.
00:34We're in the Chancellor's backyard,
00:37following three North Yorkshire businesses fighting to survive.
00:43Rishi announced the support
00:46and it felt like he was saying that our jobs...
00:50..the jobs that we do isn't viable.
00:55There we go.
00:57We've been with them through the difficult summer.
01:00Things change so quickly.
01:02Like looking at your sales figures every day,
01:04I look at the Covid figures.
01:06To the winter, another lockdown and now this week's restrictions.
01:13I just don't know what I'm going to do about this.
01:21MUSIC PLAYS
01:36Welcome to the Rupert Venture Park.
01:39Janice Dunphy runs an adventure playground on the outskirts of York.
01:45It's summer and she's still closed because of government restrictions.
01:51It's horrible, but I've got used to it now.
01:53It feels, especially on a weekend when I come in,
01:56and normally, literally, the whole of this area is covered in tables
02:00and there's hundreds of children playing.
02:06It just feels like a ghost town.
02:11Hello, you two.
02:13Outside, there's a petting zoo and an activity centre.
02:21So, the high ropes course is standing there looking great,
02:24nobody on it, and nobody...
02:26And the animals are missing people.
02:28You know, they are...
02:30You can tell as soon as you come into the area, they're making a noise,
02:33they want you to go and give them some attention.
02:37Do you want to put the water in for us, please, and I'll take it in?
02:42The park has had no paying customers for four months.
02:48They're very silly.
02:50They need some hay.
02:52She's furloughed most of her staff, is paying reduced rent,
02:56and has been living on the outskirts of the park.
02:59It's a great place to live.
03:02She's furloughed most of her staff, is paying reduced rent,
03:06and has received a quarter of a million pounds in government-backed loans.
03:10Have you eaten it? No, you haven't even eaten it.
03:12It's on the ground.
03:14The business is still losing £100,000 a month.
03:19At the minute, we've got debts, deferred payments,
03:22I'd like to call them, not debt, of a quarter of a million.
03:25So, that's rent, VAT, taxes, corporation tax,
03:29but, you know, you can't carry that amount of deferred payments, or debt,
03:34on-going, because it just becomes unviable.
03:47It'd be easier if I didn't have a lockdown hairdo.
03:50They can't actually see what I'm doing.
03:52Liz Kemp is a shopkeeper who's desperate to see customers again.
03:56Perfect.
03:58She owns two gift and book shops,
04:01this one in Whitby and another in the nearby town of Malton.
04:05These should be older than they were.
04:07Oh, they're red. I didn't realise they were red.
04:09That's not my own brand, is it? No.
04:11Well, I don't want the blue ones.
04:13She runs them with her partner, Jonathan.
04:17There have been no sales here since before Easter.
04:22Without the Chancellor's first rescue package,
04:25they would have been forced to close this shop.
04:30If I'm honest, if we hadn't had the Bounce Back Loan support
04:35and the initial £10,000 that we got,
04:39then we would... I don't know that we'd still be here.
04:44If we could get back to normal,
04:47then we'd still be here.
04:51If we can't continue trading over this summer period in some form,
04:56we'll have to let people go
04:59and try and start again in another way.
05:11In the centre of York, there's another business on the brink.
05:18Papakata was set up by Amanda Monaghan and her husband, Richard.
05:24They rent out big tents, mainly for weddings.
05:28But this summer, big weddings are cancelled.
05:32Who's a peeler and who's a strawberry?
05:35Thank you. Enjoy.
05:37I didn't think we'd be drinking frozen drinks anymore, but...
05:40This beer tent is one of the few ways they've been able to make money.
05:47Do you want to come under?
05:53But Papakata normally do about 30 weddings a week in summer.
06:00The beer tent won't make up for what's been lost.
06:05It has been amazing and a lifeline for us,
06:09but you have that moment where you think,
06:13how long is it going to last?
06:15And, you know, what's going to happen at Christmas?
06:18And are we going to be able to continue?
06:23It's just...
06:25Yeah, that feeling of, you know,
06:30It's just...
06:32Yeah, that feeling of, every day, the pit of your stomach,
06:37not knowing whether we will be able to continue our business in November.
06:55Hi, it's Richard here, Papakata.
06:57With the finance, we were able to defer payment for a few months.
07:03Back at Papakata's headquarters, Amanda's husband Richard is doing what he can.
07:10I think we've sort of missed a few payments as well.
07:13Papakata has never made a loss until now.
07:18Today they've cut off the mobile phones, so...
07:21Most of their remaining staff are furloughed.
07:25I know we've sort of missed a few payments after the moratorium.
07:33The business is being supported by government-backed loans of £300,000.
07:42We haven't slept properly since March, have we?
07:46You know, I wake up most nights
07:48and have a good couple of hours to think about the business.
07:51People are like, well, can you pivot?
07:53But, you know, when you've got a warehouse full of tents,
07:56you can't turn around and make hand sanitiser,
07:59so we've done everything we can possibly do.
08:02But you're still looking at, like, a 90% loss of revenue across the year,
08:07so it's staggering, really.
08:09It doesn't mean, you know, that can't cover the cost.
08:21Easy.
08:23Easy!
08:26At the adventure park, Janice has got a plan.
08:30Three rides. Many funfair rides.
08:35Customers are not allowed indoors.
08:40But a funfair on the outdoor space will bring in some money.
08:46They're going to come round the back of here.
08:51And through that fence.
08:55There!
09:03Yeah, brilliant.
09:06It's a good step forward. It's a new step.
09:08And I think my team are really excited to get back to work, as I am.
09:13It's quite lonely here.
09:16I think it would be nice for them as well.
09:18As well as the till, hopefully.
09:21Some money would be good. Some money would be good.
09:36Customers and cash are finally back.
09:43She's so fortunate she's got this outdoor space.
09:45I was saying earlier, wasn't I? Yeah.
09:47You know, to have that room to put fairground rides and things
09:50to make it something else is incredible.
09:52I quite like that it's not too busy, if I'm honest.
09:55I like that they've restricted it to so many people.
09:58So you can keep your distance.
10:00It's just nice to get back out as well, though, isn't it?
10:02It feels safe to be back.
10:05We're right at this end now, OK?
10:08Papakata started with Richard and Amanda
10:11buying a tent for their own wedding.
10:17They now have around 50 for hire.
10:21But most won't be used this year.
10:25It's a bit of a challenge.
10:27It's a bit of a challenge.
10:29It's a bit of a challenge.
10:31It's a bit of a challenge.
10:33Most won't be used this year.
10:41York University has hired tents
10:43for the students that are about to return.
10:48It's a nice spot, actually.
10:52You can't get better than this.
10:54We're building tents, no wind.
10:59So we've got ice creams.
11:02Mini ones, there's two packets, anyway.
11:15It's looking really good.
11:17It's really nice to see a tent out of the warehouse going up,
11:20being used for what it's intended, you know?
11:22So that's really nice to see.
11:26The job will only make a small dent in the money they're losing.
11:33Oh, my God.
11:35So, basically, £265,000 versus £1.8 million up to the end of July.
11:39£2 million. Yeah.
11:41Scary numbers.
11:43They were down £2.5 million in cash.
11:50Eight months.
11:52The company now has debts of around £600,000.
11:58That includes £300,000 of loans that we've taken out.
12:06And that was the maximum we could borrow
12:08without putting absolutely everything at risk, basically.
12:13That was the threshold, so anything above that.
12:22It's getting harder to save the business.
12:28DOOR OPENS
12:37Sorry.
12:51Liz, the shopkeeper, is also fighting for survival.
12:58There we go.
13:00This is her main store in Moulton.
13:04That other shop in Whitby is in trouble,
13:07but she's come up with a radical plan to keep the business alive.
13:13Lovely. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye.
13:16Liz has decided the way to fight back is to expand.
13:23She's moving to bigger premises next door.
13:26There we are, then. Yep, here we are.
13:29Not a big move. No, you're not going far.
13:32I'm not going far.
13:34Find a big space, though. Really big space.
13:37Really big space.
13:39Oh, there's more.
13:41It will be beautiful. We've got a terrace outside.
13:51It's only possible because the landlord has agreed to a low rent.
13:57But it's still a big risk.
13:59You've got bigger premises now,
14:01so what do you have to do in terms of an increase in sales
14:04to justify shifting in here?
14:06I think we need to do another...
14:09..probably only another 40, 50%.
14:12Another 40... This is post-Covid. It feels really brave.
14:15But we've got a much bigger space
14:17and I think the book offering is significant.
14:22There we go. That's £25.30, please.
14:25And it's all ready for you.
14:27Liz has already changed her business, selling more online.
14:32But everything depends on Covid.
14:36I look at the figures every day.
14:38It's the routine now,
14:40whether it's my comfort blanket or whatever at the moment.
14:43And so, like looking at your sales figures every day,
14:46I look at the Covid figures.
14:48And it just needs a couple of foolish people
14:50and everything changes so quickly.
15:02Janice is finally allowed to reopen the indoor play centre
15:06in late summer.
15:09It looks busy, but it isn't enough.
15:13Government restrictions,
15:16Government restrictions limit the number of children indoors,
15:20so she still can't cover her costs.
15:24It's five months of getting to this point and it should be euphoric.
15:28Everybody should be really, you know, happy about getting an opening date
15:32and it's just not going to be...
15:36..sustainable.
15:38It all turns on visitor numbers.
15:43It's now September and with children back at school,
15:46the takings have fallen.
15:51We would expect to take probably 5,000 to 6,000
15:55on a bad weekend day.
15:59A really bad weekend day.
16:01We're not...
16:03..just 2,000, 2,500, 3,000.
16:06We've got to split that with the fairground as well,
16:08so we are right down on expected trade for this time of year.
16:32We know we're going to be making a huge loss.
16:35We're probably better off shut, in all honesty.
16:42Welcome to the second AIP Zoom meeting.
16:47Covid has cost Janice around three-quarters of a million pounds.
16:52She had been hoping her insurance would cover some of the losses.
16:57But others in her position have been told there'll be no payouts.
17:02Thank you. Bye. Bye-bye.
17:08Oh, God!
17:11Miss me.
17:13Do you hear that?
17:14What?
17:15We're probably not covered by the insurance.
17:18I think it's actually, like, the Truman Show or something like that,
17:21where somebody's just chucking things in.
17:27But that's what it feels like.
17:28It feels like it's...
17:31You're almost hysterical with the things that come in waves, you know,
17:36when you think about it.
17:38I mean, it's just...
17:40It's just...
17:42It's almost hysterical with the things that come in waves, you know,
17:47one thing after another after another.
17:50And you're just thinking, what next?
17:55And I'm drinking tea, and I don't even like tea.
18:00It's a time for a change when I start drinking the wrong hot drink.
18:13Yeah.
18:19It's October, and Papa Katter are in serious trouble.
18:25Did you want to...
18:28..tell Kate, or shall I, about the email that came through?
18:32You can do that. Are you sure? Yeah. OK.
18:35Richard and Amanda have spent the day calling worried members of staff.
18:41She says she's sending the base.
18:43It's tough, cos it feels like...
18:47..we're running out of options open to us, you know?
18:51We've taken the loans up to a level that's sustainable.
18:55We've maximised the use of furlough.
19:00And those things, those options are kind of done.
19:03It's getting to the point where it's just coming down to...
19:06..it just feels very closed in and tight.
19:14What's hit them hard is the government's announcement
19:17that restrictions on weddings could be extended until next March.
19:23That announcement just...
19:26..just, you know, realising that this is going to go on a very long time.
19:37And then, I suppose, the next day, Rishi then announced the support
19:43and he talked about viable jobs.
19:48And I think that's what hurt the most,
19:50because I'm sat looking at a spreadsheet of people
19:54who want to party in our tents,
19:56but because the support wasn't great...
20:01..it felt like he was saying that,
20:03um, the jobs that we do isn't viable.
20:12Just emotionally, that feeling that what you're so passionate about
20:17all of a sudden...
20:21..isn't viable and doesn't mean anything.
20:25I just think of, like, what we've...
20:27You know, the parties we've created and the times.
20:31You know, and I just worry that all that...
20:37..people won't remember.
20:39So we've done over... We've been going for, what, 15 years?
20:44And we've done over...
20:47..3,000 events.
20:50And not once have we got 100% record in terms of delivery.
20:56And that's why people come to you, because you've got that reputation
21:00and, you know, the most important day of their lives,
21:02you turn up and you do what you promise you're going to do.
21:11I just don't know what we're going to do, Robert.
21:25What's on here? Is this fiction?
21:27It's fiction, this fiction in the middle,
21:30and then the other side is non-fiction, predominantly.
21:33It's November, and Liz's new shop in Malton has had a profitable start.
21:39Would you like Downton Abbey Christmas cookbook?
21:43Would I like it? Yeah. No.
21:47Aw, I was trying to look for an excuse!
21:52The shop's only been open a month.
21:55And now Liz is having to shut again for the second lockdown.
22:01So, I've got a candle, a feather and a...
22:04Oh, you are getting into lockdown activity, aren't you?
22:07I am, unfortunately.
22:09So, how are you on the Christmas shopping front?
22:11Will you start me off? Yeah, of course.
22:13Is this the start? It's the start.
22:15All right, we're finished.
22:22I really believe that the business is right for the town,
22:25and I think that gives me courage to carry on.
22:38Like all shops, she's desperate to reopen before Christmas.
22:43Bye, Michael. Bye-bye.
22:47We don't have any income now for the next month,
22:50or, you know, I'm going to work as hard as I can
22:53to get online income and all of those things,
22:55but it won't be anything like customers through the door.
22:59And certainly it won't be anything like customers through the door
23:02in the run-up to Christmas, normally.
23:04So, that's our challenge, is suddenly we have no income.
23:13It feels very sluggish.
23:18At the adventure park, Janice is also preparing for lockdown again.
23:23And then, as if by magic...
23:26Hello. Hiya, mate.
23:30The funfair that was supposed to help save her business has to go.
23:36Janice is already working on a Christmas plan for after lockdown.
23:42We can access the grotto coming from the outside,
23:45and you just need a space.
23:48Yeah, I know, just like a ferry service or whatever.
23:51Yeah.
23:52So, we're just going to have to find a space,
23:55and we're just going to have to find a space.
23:57So, we're just going to have to find a space,
24:00and we're just going to have to find a space.
24:02Yeah, I know, just like a ferry service or whatever.
24:06Yeah, so that could be really pretty.
24:09Oh, yeah, that's brilliant.
24:12But while we're filming, everything changes again.
24:17No caller ID.
24:20Hello.
24:24OK.
24:27As part of a national scheme,
24:29Janice is being regularly tested for COVID.
24:35Yeah.
24:42I will. Thank you.
24:45Bye. Bye-bye.
24:50Bye, boys.
24:53Who? Me.
24:56She's got the virus and will have to isolate.
25:01I can't even give you a hug now, can I?
25:11I've learned that it's not all about money
25:16and making more money to build more things.
25:19It's about the people that you work with, 100%,
25:23because they've got your back.
25:26But the support and the love that we've had from customers and...
25:31Oh, that's meant a lot, you know?
25:45It's meant a lot.
25:47It's meant a lot.
25:50Sorry.
26:00No funfair, no customers...
26:04..and now no contact.
26:07Bye.
26:09See you in two weeks. Bye.
26:11Take care. Bye.
26:16Bye.
26:20Papakata hasn't survived.
26:24Richard and Amanda's events business,
26:26which made a profit every year until COVID, has gone under.
26:33Probably one of the worst days of my life, I think.
26:36Having to stand there in front of all those people
26:40and understand the impact on their livelihoods
26:43and make that announcement was just absolutely devastating.
26:48They'll keep a smaller bar company open,
26:51but restrictions on the events industry have finished their main business.
26:5840 people have lost their jobs
27:01and the couples who've booked weddings may lose their deposits.
27:08The brides have all been contacted and explained the situation
27:12and, you know, it's in the hands of the liquidators now
27:16to move that process forward and I feel incredibly sad about that.
27:29I know they trusted.
27:32Trusted us.
27:37Our business model's been made illegal.
27:39You know, what can you do, really?
27:41It's just your hands are completely tied.
27:49So what about our other businesses?
27:55When the second lockdown is eased tomorrow in England,
27:58Liz's shops will reopen.
28:01Janice has recovered from Covid and the park will reopen too,
28:06but restrictions on her business continue.
28:15It is crunch time for the British economy.
28:22After months of fighting to keep businesses open,
28:26after months of fighting the disease
28:28and billions in government handouts,
28:31thousands of businesses are still on the brink.
28:55To learn more, visit www.britisheconomy.org