A CAMPAIGN launched in the Forest to protect pubs has become a national phenomenon, with more than 500 hospitality venues signing up within the first month.

HOOP - Hands Off Our Pubs - is holding a business breakfast summit at the Speech House near Coleford on Wednesday morning (February 18), as part of the initiative to offer real-time support to pub and hospitality owners under intense financial pressure.

HOOP co-founder Mark Terry-Lush, said: “Most consumers have no idea how many new costs are being piled onto hospitality.

"Business rates, an alcohol duty hike, higher employment and environmental taxes, rising energy bills and food inflation are all landing at once – forcing prices up while margins collapse.

“At the same time, supermarkets continue to sell alcohol at wafer-thin margins that pubs cannot legally or commercially match.

"Community pubs cannot absorb this imbalance. They either pass on costs and lose customers, or close. That is the reality.”

Speakers include Tony Sophoclides, Strategic Affairs Director at UK Hospitality, who represents pubs, restaurants, hotels, leisure and the night-time economy, and will set out the data, the policy reality, and what must change to protect viable hospitality businesses.

He'll be joined by Julie Kent MBE, High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, a well known community leader and campaigner known for standing up for fairness, who will share an insight on leadership under pressure, resilience in the face of setbacks, and why collective action matters when businesses are being tested by forces beyond their control.

The summit marks a turning point for the fast-growing movement, which has already taken its fight to Westminster, engaging with MPs across all parties, trade associations, councils, and UK business groups.

HOOP say there is a growing disconnect between government policy and how hospitality operates on the ground – particularly in rural and market-town Britain, where pubs are often the last remaining community infrastructure.

Attendance is limited at the summit, which opens at 8.30am for a 9am start and pre-registration is required via Eventbrite.