Bars and nightclubs in Liverpool could take a decade to recover from Covid

Industry experts say it could take up to a decade for bars and nightclubs in Liverpool to recover from the damage caused by the pandemic.

As indoor hospitality reopens there are fresh warnings any more lockdowns will have a devastating impact on the industry.

Last year, across the country, twelve thousand had to close their doors for good with estimations around a third of businesses could be lost to covid overall.

Michael Kill is the CEO of the Night Time Industries association :

"It's going to take five to ten years to rebuild because you also have to understand that you've got some amazing artists and DJ's that come from Liverpool and they haven't been able to have that platform and refine their craft.

"We've been on survival mode since the middle of last year and every single person in our industry have been hanging off press conference announcements and not understanding how you can hug but you can't dance. There's constant questions".

Daniel Nicolson runs the Angus Tap and Grind on Dale St. They only opened in August, he says another lockdown could kill them off :

"We've actually been closed for more days than we've been open. We have just about managed to hang in there and we're hoping as we open our doors that this is it for lockdown and we can have a good run at our business in a safe and healthy environment".