Cllr Asima Shaikh and Cllr Hak Huseyin, who is vice-chairman of the Archway Town Centre Group

BUSINESSES are bracing themselves for a possible slump in trade amid the coronavirus crisis, after a snapshot of what might be ahead with the postponement of Arsenal’s midweek match with Manchester City.

Managers at the iconic The Gunners pub in Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park, were expecting a busy night on Wednesday, but instead of a crowd of 300, three regulars were propping up the bar.

The match was called off after it emerged four Arsenal players were self-isolating after coming into contact with the owner of Greek football team Olympiakos, who tested positive for Covid-19 in the days after the two teams met in the Europa League tournament.

Pub landlord Andrew Hoyle said: “We are dependent on football. You don’t need to be a financial adviser or Warren Buffet to work out that if Arsenal FC Plc have lost £28million from this cancellation, all the associated businesses who are so closely linked to Arsenal are also going to have lost a lot of money.”

Football has been suspended in Spain after an infection at the training quarters of Real Madrid, while matches in other countries are already being played behind closed doors.

This has led to speculation that matches in England, including some of Arsenal’s remaining fixtures, could suffer the same fate.

Mr Hoyle, who has run the pub for almost a decade, added: “We’re probably going to self-isolate if there is no football. We’re going to close the pub. Independent pubs are being really hit by the virus. That’s on top of being hit by other things like the rising cost of screening the football, business rates, rent.”

Mr Hoyle’s partner, Una Mckernan, said: “We are the home of Arsenal football club. It’s not just us who have suffered, though, it’s people that sell burgers, scarves and programmes. There are restaurants and bars that have always been associated with Arsenal and their games. With all this going on, you basically decimate us.”

Pub landlord Andrew Hoyle at The Gunners pub

Meanwhile, Mick Doherty, who runs the Islington Sports Bar and Grill, told the Tribune: “We rely on matchday trade. If games are called off the pubs are going to get f***ed. It’s getting quieter everywhere with this virus.”

On Wednesday, chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a raft of emergency measures in his first budget including suspending loan payments, statutory sick pay for those affected by coronavirus and scrapping business rates payments for small businesses with a rateable value of less than £51,000.

Hak Huseyin, vice-chairman of the Archway Town Centre Group and former chairman of the Islington Chamber of Commerce, said: “The rates and statutory sick pay is good news, but it is a drop in the ocean.

“Nobody knows what is going on. Unless you sell toilet paper and baked beans you’re in a lot of trouble.

“We don’t know what is happening day to day. Everybody is worried. This is something new. We’ve had recessions, cutbacks, tax changes, but nothing on this scale.”

Mr Huseyin, who also runs the Absolute Print shop in Junction Road, added: “At times we laugh at it, then there is a part of you thinking, what is actually next? Do I buy 78 packs of pasta and tomato sauce?

One of my clients has several restaurants in town but he is stuck in Italy at the moment. He said it is like a war-zone there.

“I’m wondering what is going to happen here. Are we going to close for two weeks? Will we survive?”
Christine Lovett, chief executive of the Angel business improvement district (BID), said: “We welcome the suspension of business rates payments as a temporary step forward. It will help a lot of small businesses.

“But so much more needs to be done. Many businesses in the area do not come under the government’s £50,000 threshold so they’ve been hung out to dry.”

Council leader Richard Watts

Speaking to the Tribune last night (Thursday), council leader Richard Watts called for people to be prepared, while keeping safe, and to help elderly or vulnerable neighbours. “We don’t want to create panic, but this is clearly a significant pandemic and we need to respond accordingly,” he said.

“People should try to come into work as normal, but should self-isolate for seven days if they have a persistent cough or a temperature.

“We will take a view on a day-by-day basis about what services we will be able to operate as a council. The council has well-tested contingency plans in place that will allow us to continue to deliver vital council services.”

Cllr Watts added: “One of the really key messages from us is that people should, while staying safe, look out for elderly and vulnerable neighbours. People need to be community minded at this time.”

Cllr Watts said he thought “a few” council staff were self-isolating, but none had been diagnosed with the virus.

He added: “The challenge for Islington is that we are possibly going to see an increase in the number of cases, as we will across the country.”