UK Small Business are heading to a perfect storm due to rising energy costs. While small and medium sized businesses have already faced energy price hikes of 250% in the last year, further rises await, according to the latest research.
Based on an estimated 65% rise by autumn, Britain’s small businesses will need to find an extra £2.5K + simply to pay their energy bills.
Chris Andersen, senior Insolvency Practitioner at Company Debt comments: “The last few years have been some of the toughest in living memory for the business community. The concern is that energy costs could prove the tipping point that pushes less resilient companies into insolvency.”
While every sector will feel the pinch this winter, a recent survey suggests hospitality and leisure bosses face one of the toughest challenges.
In fact, the energy services group eEnergy survey found that 83% of bosses in the sector plan to make redundancies or reduce staff hours. More worryingly still, a quarter are considering closing for good.
For a sector hit hard by COVID-19, staff issue and the cost of living crisis, the energy costs of 2022 are a nail in the coffin, say experts.
