Survey shows Olympics a disaster for London restaurant trade

A survey of 100 London restaurants, for the British Hospitality Association, has indicated an average decline of 40% in year-on-year revenue during the Olympic games with some restaurants reporting a 60-70% fall in trade. Some said trade had been disastrous and fear business will not improve until mid-September, after the Paralympics. Local and regular customers have stayed away and tourist trade has not nearly compensated for this loss. The promised boom for businesses by the mayor and the government has clearly failed to materialise for most in what is normally a good time of year for trade.