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21 Nov 2022

Shop owners in Earlsfield, Wandsworth are teaming up in the run-up to keep the high street busy in the run-up to Christmas. With the cost-of-living crisis affecting independent shops, the...

17 Nov 2022

Retail and small business organisations have given a cautious welcome to business-focused aspects of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

17 Nov 2022

Cycle retailers around the UK facing up to the imminent challenges of recession will need to stay one step ahead of the curve to survive. Now is the time to benefit from being part of something...

15 Nov 2022

Belfast City Council is seeking expressions of interest to provide publicly accessible secure cycle storage facilities across the city.

15 Nov 2022

New research from Research Nester has forecast that between now and 2033, the global bicycle market could reach an estimated value of approximately $130 billion, by expanding at a compound...

14 Nov 2022

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement this week, retail expert Mary Portas called on the Government to rethink business rates and VAT to help struggling retailers.

10 Nov 2022

A new report by Ankorstore and retail consultant Mary Portas has found that 94% of independent retailers want the government to act in next week’s budget to preserve the UK’s high...

9 Nov 2022

bira has been offering guidance to retailers on how to take advantage of the Government’s energy bill relief scheme.

7 Nov 2022

Figures from research conducted by global marketing agency Wunderman Thompson Commerce suggested consumers are set to spend up to 50% less than usual this Black Friday, November 25th.

3 Nov 2022

Cycling Industry News’ sixth annual Market Study has today gone live with independent retailers, workshops and mobile mechanics invited to take part by clicking here.

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Energy crisis prompts fears of a ‘generation of lost businesses’

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Creative News, Outdoor News

Nearly 14% of small UK businesses expect to close in the next twelve months, according to a new report published by the Federation of Small Businesses.

The FSB has warned that rapidly rising energy prices could provoke a succession of business collapses. Its data shows that nearly 53% of small companies expect to stagnate, downsize, or fold in the next year. Fuel and utilities were the most-mentioned causes of this increase in costs.

FSB National Chair Martin McTague is quotes as saying:

“Far too many small businesses are finding it hard to stay afloat with spiralling operating costs and reporting energy bills mushrooming by four or five times in recent months.

“While domestic consumers quite rightly have at least some protection through the price cap and are being given direct cash support, there is no price cap for small businesses and currently no financial support either, despite many seeing energy costs soaring at an alarming rate.

“We also need to see immediate allocation of unspent Covid additional relief funding to help businesses with rising energy costs.”

Mr McTague added that there are levers the government can pull – energy bill support for small firms to match that given to households, a reduction in VAT on energy, a cut in fuel duty.

He said: “Cost pressures more widely could be eased through a reversal in the recent national insurance hike and taking more small firms out of business rates. The government needs to grasp hold of these levers and start pulling them now.
“Small businesses are at the heart of both the economy and communities, and account for 60% of private sector employment.
“The importance of providing support for small businesses in these worrying times cannot be over-stated and must not be overlooked. The number of small firms in the UK shrank by almost 400,000 over the first year of the pandemic. Without support at this time of costs crisis, this year could turn out to be equally catastrophic.”

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