Daniel Cornwell, founder of SPE Resourcing, has spoken to the Morning Advertiser about the challenges currently facing the hospitality industry, with inflation, interest rates and business debt all dampening the incentive to hire.

SPE Resourcing founder Daniel Cornwell has told the Morning Advertiser that the hospitality recruitment market is in the “toughest” position he has known in his 27 years of experience, thanks to “a complex landscape shaped by economic challenges and policy changes.”

The recruitment specialist listed inflation, elevated debt servicing costs, and the wider economic environment as having had a “notable impact” on executive-level mobility within the sector.

“In more than 27 years working in the sector, it’s the toughest market I have ever known,” said Cornwell. “The UK’s hospitality recruitment market at the senior level is currently characterised by reduced mobility, cautious hiring practices and downward pressure on salaries for the majority of job seekers.”

“It is the quietest market we have seen since 2008-09 and we don’t expect this to change until inflation falls, interest rates normalise around 2 percent to 3 percent, the Government starts to listen to business (fat chance!) and the flow of capital increases.”

With many firms having refinanced post-Covid, Cornwell noted that in the current market the sector is contending with significantly higher debt servicing costs, which in turn impact corporate transactions as “companies adopt a cautious stance amid economic uncertainties.”

The uncertainty also means many senior executives are opting to remain in roles so as not to risk losing equity, as opposed to relocating and creating mobility across the sector, while recent Government policy changes “have further complicated the landscape.”

“These additional costs can often lead to strategic decisions aimed at cost reduction, including unfortunately potential redundancies.”