Britain’s business bills explode by 70%

This is an abbreviated article by Liz Barclay – read the full article at Business111.com/news

Britain’s small businesses aren’t just facing a cost of living crisis – they’re trapped in a cost of doing business crisis. New figures reveal business costs have rocketed by 70 per cent over the past decade, leaving firms shelving investment, stopping hiring and fighting to survive.

Firms hit by 70% cost surge

I’ve been talking about the cost of doing business since the pandemic. For small and micro businesses, add it to the cost of living and you’ve got crises squared. Finally, we have figures showing the scale of the problem.

New British Chambers of Commerce analysis says the average mid-sized UK firm is paying £827,000 more a year than in 2016 because of government policy.

The BCC’s cost calculator puts the increase at 70% over a decade, with higher employer National Insurance accounting for around a quarter of the rise.

Small firms hit hardest

Other pressures include minimum wage increases, pension contributions and the growing cost of regulation.

And that’s only part of the story. The BCC calculation doesn’t include inflation, Brexit, supply-chain disruption, tariffs, wars or volatile energy prices. The real increase in the cost of doing business could therefore be considerably higher.

Small and micro businesses have the least capacity to absorb these increases. Money that could have gone into equipment, technology, recruitment and training is instead swallowed by everyday costs.

They can’t simply increase prices either because their customers are struggling with their own bills.

How much more?

Government says it wants economic growth and describes itself as pro-business. Yet businesses facing another Budget need more than promises.

The BCC figures reinforce what small firms have been saying for years: Britain has a cost of doing business crisis.

For some, the question is no longer whether they can grow. It’s whether they can afford to stay in business.

This is an abbreviated article by Liz Barclay – read the full article at Business111.com/news

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