High street 'death knell' – indie retailers, including cycle shops, shutting doors ahead of April tax rises
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News
Towns and cities across Britain are already seeing a wave of closures as independent businesses shut their doors ahead of April’s triple tax burden, including those in the cycling retail sector, ACT parent company Bira has warned.
Bira reports that many shop owners are making the difficult decision to close now rather than face the financial cliff edge coming in April.
Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira, said: "We're seeing a deeply concerning trend of preemptive closures. Shop owners are doing the maths on the increased National Insurance contributions, higher minimum wage costs, and the looming reduction in business rates relief, and many are concluding that continuing simply isn't viable."
The combined impact of employers’ National Insurance rising to 15%, the minimum wage increasing to £12.21, and business rates relief dropping from 75% to 40% is creating what Bira describes as a "perfect storm" for independent retailers.
With around 13,000 shops shutting their doors in 2024, and forecasts suggesting closures could rise to 17,000 in 2025, the scale of the crisis facing British high streets is unprecedented.
The association warns this trend could accelerate in the coming weeks, leaving more empty units on Britain’s high streets and fundamentally changing the character of town centres.
"These aren’t just statistics – they’re family businesses that have often served their communities for generations," Mr Goodacre added. "We're particularly alarmed by the number of retailers, including cycle shop owners, telling us they're closing now to avoid accumulating further debt before the April changes take effect.
"If the government doesn't recognise these early closures as the death knell for our high streets and take immediate action, we risk losing the diverse, independent businesses that make our communities unique. The economic and social cost of these closures will far outweigh any short-term tax gains."
Bira is calling for an urgent review of the planned tax changes and additional support measures for small retailers, including those in the cycle trade, to prevent what it describes as a "devastating blow" for independent high street businesses.