The company that owns Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos, Rank, has come up with a plan to ensure that there will be no disruption to the food and drink that they’re able to serve to customers in the event of a No Deal Brexit.
They have come up with what they are calling a ‘Brexit Menu’, which they will be able to put into motion if the British government decides to leave the European Union without first agreeing a deal on the likes of imports and exports as well as border crossings.
At present, around 30% of the food consumed in the United Kingdom comes from the EU, so it’s likely that there’ll be disruption to supplies of fruit, veg and fish if No Deal ends up being what happens as far as Brexit is concerned. The disruption will be caused by transport delays and an increase in import taxes, to say nothing of the falling price of the pound.
All of those are things that Rank believe that they can avoid in their casinos and bingo halls by coming up with a menu that won’t require food to be imported from Europe.
The Changes That Will Be Implemented
The first thing that Rank have done is to look at the foodstuffs that currently come from Europe and find ways to replace them. Rather than importing continental beers, for example, the company will offer UK-brewed beers to its customers instead.
There’s no word on whether they’re likely to turn to British-based wine makers for their wine or local gin manufacturers for their spirits, but at least beer drinkers should be well-catered for.
At the moment the company imports prawns for some of its menu options, but in the event of a No Deal Brexit they would turn to langoustines that can be sourced in the UK.
The company’s Chief Executive, John O’Reilly, said that the menus for Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo are ‘raring to go’. Even so, he admitted that every company will face the ‘challenges’ of getting fresh food brought into ports. The fact that the company doesn’t currently use British products, though, suggests that there’s something about the European prawns and beers that people prefer.
It’s Not Just A Food Question For Rank
Whilst the menu might well be the headline grabbing story, it’s not the only problem that Rank will be faced with in the event of a No Deal Brexit. The company’s digital headquarters are based in Gibraltar, with as many as 100 staff members crossing the border from Spain to head into work on a daily basis.
It is likely to become virtually impossible for them to make it into work easily if No Deal ends up being the default position for the UK’s relationship with the European Union, considering that there are already problems for staff in crossing the border and we’re currently still part of the EU.
O’Reilly thinks the key thing for workers will be to ensure that the internet network has the necessary bandwidth to allow them to work from home in the short-term, but that is a ‘short-lived solution that is less than ideal’. Far more of an issue for Rank will be figuring out how to cope with the impact on EU nationals that work in the company’s various premises.
With eight casinos in London alone and around a quarter of staff in them being European, they might not be able to remain in the country in the event of No Deal. If that happens then the company might struggle to get enough workers to replace the ones that have been forced to leave the UK.
Rank are working with people that want to get settled status and remain in the country after Brexit, but it’s not an easy process. O’Reilly said:
“Come November it is not necessarily the case that [people] haven’t applied for settled status, it is because they don’t want to as [they] are fairly transient folk who come for summer to work and have fun. This could all change”
The company has nine bingo halls in Spain and one in Belgium, but more than 80% of the money it makes comes from its UK-based operations. Rank had a difficult start to the year, seeing profits slump to £39 million before picking up in the second half of the year.
Other Companies Are Also Thinking About Food
Rank isn’t the only business thinking with its stomach. Bidfood UK is the company that supplies food to British prisons as well as to care homes, hospitals and schools. Their Chief Executive, Andrew Selley, revealed that they had held talks with a number of their customers in order to think up ways to avoid the turmoil that would result from No Deal happening. He said:
“We’re looking at where we could switch to different products that are UK sourced. In a partnership approach with customers, working on menu development, to say: ‘this product may not be available’”
One such option could be to offer vegetarian menus, given that most meat from from places such as Oland and Holland.
Bidfood UK has 24 depots and uses around 1,000 trucks to transport food from those depots to in excess of 12,000 delivery points around the country. They have begun to stockpile food and drink supplies in additional warehouse spaces in order to ensure that they can avoid shortages being a problem in the first few weeks after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, if that is indeed what happens.
Delays of as little as 30 minutes could end up in 1 in 10 businesses going bankrupt, according to bosses, so it’s little wonder that the biggest companies are trying to find ways to mitigate the inherent problems that would be posed by No Deal being the eventual outcome.
Of course, given the falling value of the pound and the almost certain inability to have enough staff working, having a Brexit-proof menu might not be all that is necessary to help companies such as Rank avoid financial issues after the 31st of October.
It remains to be seen whether or not MPs will be able to stop the Prime Minister from forcing through No Deal and potentially damaging the UK’s economy in a significant way.