© Provided by The iHospitality faces enormous debt (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
The hospitality industry has mounting debts of more than £8 billion because pubs and restaurants were forced to borrow money and pause rent payments due to coronavirus.
Operators now have around £2.2bn in unpaid rents, the trade body UKHospitality told i, with the Government's moratorium due to finish at the end of June.
Thousands were also forced to take out loans, ranging from up to £50,000 for smaller businesses to multi-million pound sums for larger groups, which together are worth almost £6bn.
UKHospitality CEO Kate Nicholls told i she is lobbying the Government to extend the rent moratorium to allow businesses "breathing space to recover".
New figures reveal 40 per cent of premises have been granted no negotiations or solutions with private landlords who will be able to call in debt from July.
"If the moratorium ends, landlords will be able to force business owners to pay," Nicholls told i.
"The industry needs more time to recover and more must be done to protect businesses, both large and small, from rent debt.
"There's a concern that because trading will return properly from 21 June, the Government won't look to safeguard pubs and restaurants any longer - but just because they're busy doesn't mean they'll be immediately profitable.
"We have a long period of fragility ahead of us".
Loans issued through the banks and guaranteed by the Government are heaping further pressure on the sector.
For small enterprises in particular, repayments of Bounce Back Loans begin 12 months after they were first taken out, so many are now facing the prospect of additional monthly costs with outside dining only and social distancing rules still in effect.
"A lot of pubs and restaurants will need to start paying back loans now or over the summer," Nicholls said.
"Some banks might not be willing to give more flexible terms due to uncertainty around trade and reopening.
"Hospitality has run through its savings and is saddled with lots of debt. If the Government doesn't continue to consider the industry, recovery will be delayed and thousands of businesses, and jobs, might be lost, after coming so far."
UKHospitality figures show every hospitality business now has an average of £48,000 worth of debt.
i contacted the Department for Business and is awaiting a response.
Industry debt will at least be up against hospitality's enormous surge in bookings over the coming weeks as figures show customers will be heading out in droves as indoor dining resumes.
Bookings have soared since outdoor tables opened on 12 April, up 28 per cent against last year's so-called Super Saturday when the industry first emerged from lockdown one, according to restaurant platform TheFork (formerly Bookatable).
Versus 12 April 2021, meanwhile, reservations are up 46 per cent for the week of 17 May, when the public will be allowed to eat and drink inside for the first time since before Christmas.
London has seen the biggest rise, with a staggering 130 per cent increase in the first week of indoor dining this year compared to last.
It shows customer confidence has been restored and diners are willing to spend having saved during lockdown.
Patrick Hooykaas, the UK managing director for TheFork, said: "It's been a bumper month for the hospitality industry.
"The craze for going out to restaurants is more prevalent than after the first lockdown last year."