Ed Sheeran is supporting staff at his London bar by refusing to furlough them during the COVID-19 crisis. Sheeran co-owns Bertie Blossoms, a bar in Notting Hill, with manager Stuart Camp. From waiters to bar staff, as well as chefs and kitchen assistants, they have been assured they will not be out of work for the foreseeable future.

As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, Bertie Blossoms closed its doors for business in March. The latest furlough scheme implemented by the Government would see them pay 80% of an employees’ salary. The business, however, decided against the scheme.

Speaking to The Sun, a spokesperson for Ed Sheeran said: “The business, co-owned by Ed Sheeran and Stuart Camp, is not, and will not, be accessing any government scheme of any kind, including furloughing, grants, loans and so on.”

Plus, recent accounts for the restaurant allege that the business owed £1.7 million to creditors.

In December, Ed Sheeran was announced by the Official Charts Company as the UK’s ‘Artist of The Decade’. The ‘Shape Of You’ hitmaker’s list of feats includes a combined run of 12 number one albums and singles from 2010 to 2019 – more than any other artist in the country.

Secondly, Sheeran spent a record 79 weeks in the top spot of both the album and singles charts. ‘Shape Of You’ spent 14 weeks at the top, selling more than 4.5m copies, and was streamed 2.3 billion times via Spotify.

“Thank you to everyone who’s supported me over the past 10 years, especially my amazing fans. Here’s to the next 10!” Sheeran said. Spotify also announced recently that Sheeran was one of the most-streamed acts of the 2010s.

Yesterday, Boris Johnson warned that the UK lockdown must continue to prevent a second wave of infections. Since his recovery from COVID-19, it was the Prime Minster’s first public address to the country outside 10 Downing Street.