The term “credit crunch” has gone from technical financial jargon - referring to the sudden reduction in the general availability of loans and the increasing cost of obtaining them - to become pretty much everyday language.

As well as hitting available funds for hospitality businesses, the credit crunch has damaged consumer confidence impacting their spending levels.

Add in rising energy and food costs and you can see why so many operators have faced tough times since the middle of 2008.
While many operators (namely those in the budget sector) have responded to the market conditions to ensure business remains healthy, businesses across the industry have all been affected in some way by the credit crisis.

In late January 2009, it was announced that the country had officially entered full-blown recession, and while there have been some tentative signs of recovery, the tough times look set to continue for some time yet.

On this page, we have rounded up all the latest news, views and analysis on the credit crunch and recession, including some handy hints on beating the slowdown.