Government's furlough scheme helped save 500 jobs at Stadium MK

Pete Winkelman said he faced three of the toughest days in his life after he was forced to close Stadium MK after the coronavirus pandemic struck last month.

While no cases of the virus have been reported there, Winkelman said the hotel went from capacity to closed within 72 hours, and left a huge hole in the business.

Employing around 700 staff across the stadium, arena, MK Dons and other businesses, Winkelman said he faced laying off 500 of them before the government's furlough scheme was announced.

"Before the announcement of furlough, I could have laid off 500 people," he said. "People who did see me could see and feel what was happening. That was the worst part of my business career. You quickly realise what is important, and that's the people. Everything else is just 'things.'

"I was facing losing everything I had built in Milton Keynes and letting everybody go. I can't tell you about the stress I faced in those few days. We had a full hotel and it crashed over three days until we shut the doors. As that happened, we were having daily crisis meetings.

"The stadium is completely shut – there's no trading. There are people there making sure the building is OK. It's so unreal, but that's where we are, and that's where lots of businesses are.

"At one point, it was looking like there was not a way. The furlough scheme was sheer genius. Otherwise, all these people were going to have to be signing on. I know these people, they work for me and they give me all they can every day, and I was threatened to send them to the Job Centre.

"I don't normally make political statements, but the support we got through the furlough scheme allows me to tell you every single one of our employees is earning money every month. In the medium term, we can see it through.

"I'm not under the same stress I was. We're looking at how to recover from this. We will be in a far worse position than we were, but instead of being buried by it, we're excited by the challenge. "We have the number one hotel in Milton Keynes, we have the arena where every major event in the area is held, so we're in a strong position going forward. How many more concerts can we fit in? Can we squeeze some more events in? There are positive things to think about.

"I hope I never have to go through that again. I'm hugely grateful for the support, because it has given us room to breathe and look to the future, and give a lot of people a chance to plan."