As the crushing cost of living issue continues to grip the nation, dozens of British companies are being forced to shut their doors.
Particularly small firms are struggling to keep up with rising energy and food prices, and they are now pleading with the government for quick help.
It occurs at a time when inflation has reached double digits for the first time in 40 years and is at its highest level since 1982 (10.1%).
Now, with anticipated price ceiling increases, an estimated 45 million individuals may struggle to pay their energy bills this winter.
According to a recent analysis from the University of York, further anticipated increases in the energy price ceiling in October and January would leave 18 million people struggling to make ends meet.
The national leader of the Federation of Small Businesses, Martin McTague, has cautioned that “action is required right now” due to the “toxic cocktail” of increasing taxes, rising energy prices, inflation, and slowing economic development.
Without resolving the cost of doing business problem, he said, the cost of living dilemma could not be resolved.
Marco Di Rienzo, the owner of a restaurant in Yorkshire, was forced to shut his operation after five years due to a £2,000 monthly payment.
The upscale Italian restaurant Santoni on Airedale Road in Keighley is still quite popular, but Mr. Di Rienzo has little alternative due to the deteriorating cost of living situation and rising costs in general.
According to him, “the essential element is what’s coming ahead.”
“I fear a difficult year or two are ahead…with increasing food, gas, and energy expenses,”
The monthly payment will increase from about £1,200 per month in the summer to £1,800 due to his company’s anticipated increases in gas and electric costs of up to 40%, he added.
Winter expenses would be closer to £2,000 per month.
According to Mr. Di Rienzo, the restaurant’s food expenses are likewise at catastrophic proportions. Vegetable oil in 20-liter drums have increased in price from roughly £20 to £42 since March.
San Marzano tomatoes increased from from £8.70 to £11.20 per kilo, while imported Italian mozzarella cheese increased from £6 to more than £7.
The proprietor of a tea parlour in Derbyshire is similarly concerned that her company may go down unless she receives greater assistance to deal with skyrocketing energy costs.
The electrical cost at Railway Tea Rooms in Belper, Derbyshire, has climbed by 254% to £415 per month, according to Clare Ransom.
She said that certain food products’ costs had sharply risen as well.
If she were to close her company, Ms. Ransom expressed concern that she may lose her house.
She complained to BBC Derby that the rise in her electricity bill, which was 254%, was absurd and that she had not yet seen an increase in her gas cost.
“I literally cannot afford to pay £415 a month for only my electric,” the person said.
“I really don’t know how I’m going to continue on. I’m so frightened.”
I’m worried that, as a result of everything, I’ll eventually lose my home.
The government “has to do something to help us,” according to Ms. Ransom, who added that the lack of assistance has been a “disgrace.”
In Stoke-on-Trent, two further firms are also experiencing financial difficulties due to the rising cost of living.
Jenny Taylor, who owns The Teapot café in Milton, said that her energy costs had already risen and expressed concern for the survival of her business.
“At times, while I sit here, I question what the purpose is,” She spoke.
Ms. Taylor said, “It is just so tough, continuously robbing Peter to pay Paul, shifting money around all the time simply to remain open,” in an interview with BBC Newsnight.
“Before Christmas, I did believe it is more cost-effective to be closed.
“This café means everything to me and it is vital for the neighbourhood.”
“I believe that this energy price increase, or fear, as you may want to call it, is just the cherry on top; it may even be the beginning of the demise of many small enterprises.
It is a lengthy month and always calm in January. It is terrible.
Anita Gill, who owns Busy Bugs Nursery nearby The Teapot, reported a 50% rise in her energy costs.
Instead of dividing the kids up into different rooms, she explained, “We have areas where we turn off the warmth, kind of cluster in one place, and get the kids in one room.”
But we are limited in what we can do.
She also requested intervention from the authorities.
We have actually had individuals look at selling the company for us and valuing it for us since, according to her, she should consider retiring and letting someone else handle the expenses.
A £10,000 gas bill in Aberdeen, which is 10 times what they would typically owe, may also cause a Chinese restaurant to shut.
Owner of the Royal Crown restaurant on Crombie Road in Aberdeen, Martin Tang, claimed he was “shocked to [his] core” when he saw the price.
The usual quarterly cost for the takeout, which has been servicing neighbourhood residents since the 1980s, is around £1,000.
The price increase, according to Mr. Tang, might result in employee layoffs, however, since the company is allegedly losing money anytime they cook, according to the most recent bill.
Mr. Tang, who has worked in the company for 18 years in various managerial and ownership roles, told BBC Scotland that he would not be able to afford the prices his energy provider is asking.
It’s always close to or just over a thousand, he said.
But this one, which I just got on Saturday, was like a bombshell on top of the £4,000 new power bill I got last week.
There is no way that, as a small company, I can come up with an additional £12k to cover this quarter.
This honestly shook me to my core since I already have high blood pressure.
![Martin Tang (pictured), who owns Royal Crown on Crombie Road, Aberdeen said he was 'shocked to [his] core' when he received the bill](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/08/18/13/61505185-11123245-image-a-12_1660826093808.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
The takeout only operates five evenings a week, and Mr. Tang claimed he will open this week in order to use up any remaining fresh supply before bidding his customers farewell.
I’m losing money every time I turn on a stove to prepare anything, he said.
This will effectively put an end to my company.
I’m powerless to intervene.
“Imagine me informing a consumer that the new price for their chicken curry is £28.”
There is just no getting around that.
Three full-time and two part-time employees of Royal Crown would lose their jobs if the takeout were to shut.
According to recent data, the headline CPI rate was 10.1% in July, far higher than experts’ expectations of 9.8%. It increased from 9.4% the previous month, mostly due to rising gasoline and food expenses.
With the cost of living problem driving up costs on everything from package vacations to fish and chips to toothbrushes, it is the highest inflation rate since February 1982, when the measure was reported to have been 10.4%.
The cost of low fat milk increased by 34% on average over the last 12 months, according to the most recent statistics from the Office of National Statistics, and a number of other grocery goods have also increased much faster than the rate of inflation (ONS).
Another amenity that will be temporarily suspended owing to increased energy costs is Aberdeen’s beachside pool.
The pool will be closed starting on August 21 according to Sport Aberdeen, the independent organisation that manages the Beach Leisure Center for the council.
The decision, made in light of the pool’s escalating heating expenses, will be reconsidered in the spring, when it is hoped that it may reopen.
Sport Aberdeen cited “record” expense increases in a statement to members.
An Islamic school and community centre are being established in a former bar in Stockton, Durham.
After serving the neighbourhood for many years, regulars at The Queen Victoria were allegedly “gutted” to learn it was shutting.
On Monday night, after battling the rising cost of living, landlords Paul and Judith Alderson poured their last drinks. Admiral Taverns, a pub firm, opted to sell the establishment after asserting that it had “no long-term viable future.”
Global nonprofit Dawat-Islami has announced that it would purchase the structure on Yarm Road and convert it into an education facility.
In around three months, it plans to open.
Another Bath pub that has been open for 280 years is also in danger of closing.
When George II was king and Britain was at war with Spain, the Faulkland Inn in Radstock, which is 10 miles from Bath, first opened its doors.
Despite having survived more than a dozen recessions, two world wars, and the Covid epidemic, the rising cost of energy now seems like a losing fight.
According to the Guardian, the local bar is on the verge of closing down and losing eight jobs because it can no longer afford to keep the lights on.
The landlord, Andy Machen, claims that “our gas and energy bills have risen since April and we’re facing yearly fuel expenditures of at least £20,000, which would wipe out our earnings.”
Until April, we needed to generate £2,500 during the four days we are open to break even; now, we would need to generate £4,000 and are paying workers from our own savings.
The pub is one of hundreds of hospitality establishments in the UK that are in danger of going out of business due to the rising cost of gasoline.
Businesses that typically pay twice the capped rate for gas and electricity are exempt from the energy price ceiling implemented by the British regulator, Ofgem, to safeguard consumers.
While government funds would be made to households to help with energy costs, small enterprises will not get the same assistance.
Family-run businesses, according to Mr. Machen, who together with his wife purchased the inn three years ago, have been overlooked in the emphasis on home fuel expenses.
At the beginning of the year, we were on track to recover and had plans to expand our guest accommodations, he claims. “The government handed us thousands of pounds to get us through the epidemic.”
There was no time to prepare a budget or plan ahead when the costs suddenly increased. Our eight employees will get government assistance to help them pay their personal energy costs, but they will be laid off since we are unable to pay our own.
Natural gas prices have been increasing sharply in recent months as a consequence, in part because of the conflict in Ukraine.
The cost of living has emerged as a crucial issue in the Tory leadership contest, with Liz Truss opposing any “handouts” and Rishi Sunak promising direct assistance to families to get them through a “very challenging” winter.
Mr. Sunak said that if elected, he will expand the assistance programme he unveiled earlier this year, which granted every family a $400 energy bill credit and an additional £650 to those receiving means-tested benefits.
Due to pricing increases, the proprietor of a fish and chip store in Watford also fears closure.
Family-run The Great Bushey Fish and Chip Shop has been operating for two years in Bushey Mill Lane, Watford.
Mehmet Akkaya, who is related to the owners of the store, worries that it could have to shut.
It’s possible that the business will close, he added.
“The cost of seafood and meat has skyrocketed. I believe that this is only the beginning and that prices will continue to rise.
“We are not receiving any assistance, and we are having financial difficulties.”
Another fish business in Watford has been forced to close its doors and move.
One caller confessed to liquidating their UK firm and transferring it to the Netherlands during a conversation with LBC’s Eddie Mair on Monday night because their business just could not function with UK energy rates.
We simply gave up,” said Lee in Watford, whose 40-year-old business oversaw 11 distribution and storage facilities for fresh fish throughout the UK.
However, Lee said that they “actually cannot pass on 260 percent to restaurants and individual consumers” since the firm has already absorbed 30 to 40 percent of the growing energy expenses.
The firm owner said that by moving the company’s headquarters to Rotterdam, he would be able to get a 5.5% energy price ceiling and prevent going out of business.
Last Friday, he made the announcement about the UK company closing (12 August). We’re looking at at least 900 layoffs, he said.