Businesses welcome bank holiday boost in trade

The Beefy Boys was founded by childhood friends Anthony Murphy, Daniel Mayo-Evans, Christian Williams and Lee Symonds

Businesses in the West Midlands have said the August bank holiday is an important "last hoorah" for trade, before children return to school.

Beefy Boys co-founder Anthony Murphy said his firm's restaurants - based in tourist cities including Hereford and Shrewsbury – were looking forward to the boost in trade.

Meanwhile, Peak Wildlife Park director James Butler said it was "really important" for businesses in Staffordshire.

"The August one is normally one of our busiest – I see it a bit like the 'final hoorah' before the kids go back to school," he said.

He said that as well as hoping for good weather they had organised extra activities such as a silent disco to help draw families in.

The school holiday period also provided a boost for the wider economy locally, he said, with additional staff brought in and follow-on trade for restaurants and cafes in surrounding towns.

"We've got Leek just down the road, so often we'll have people staying in Leek and they might nip up to us and then head back down into Leek for an evening meal."

He added that transport links were important to help connect the park with other nearby amenities.

A wallaby trail is among the additional attractions being hosted by Peak Wildlife Park to make the most of the school summer holidays

"We're in quite a rural location, so it's about connecting us with the local towns and making sure people can get to us."

In Shrewsbury, Mike Matthews, owner of the Prince Rupert Hotel, said events like the Shrewsbury Folk Festival which coincided with bank holidays were particularly important for hospitality businesses.

"For a hotel, you hope your guests have a fabulous time and they tell their friends, work colleagues and family to come back again to visit our beautiful town.

"We do everything possible to encourage our guests to explore Shrewsbury," he said.

The town had an "enormous" catchment area, and had become an appealing destination for day visitors, he added.

Events like the Shrewsbury Folk Festival are particularly important for hospitality businesses, according to hotelier Mike Matthews

He said a bank holiday boost in trade had become more important in the face of rising costs.

"These weekends become critically important, because they get us through those quieter periods," he said.

Beefy Boys' Mr Murphy said Saturdays and Sundays were usually their two busiest days of the week, with bank holidays providing an extra boost on a Sunday as punters were not heading home early ahead of work on Monday.

This often gave them a "real bumper" Monday as well, he said.

He added that the August bank holiday was "the big one" before children went back to school.

"Bank holidays are real tentpoles in our year, when we know we're going to have a nice little boost in our trade."