Alan Thomas, UK CEO at Simply Business, comments on the release of the consumer price inflation figures for September published by the ONS: “The latest CPI figures highlight the impact that the current economic situation is having on small businesses in the UK. Record high inflation, soaring energy prices, and political instability are having a detrimental impact on the nation’s SMEs. Simultaneously, with consumer purchasing power down as Brits cut back on non-essential spending, small firms will continue to feel the impact in the months ahead.
“Many small businesses are at breaking point. Our latest SME Insights Reportshowed that the increase in fuel and energy prices are putting over half of UK small businesses at risk of collapse, with rising costs representing the single greatest threat to SME survival. We recently had a customer tell us that their energy costs will increase by 320 per cent – this is completely unsustainable.
“We know that small business owners have been left with little choice but to implement survival tactics. Half (49%) say that will be raising prices, 48 per cent are halting new hires and two in five (40%) are putting expansion plans on hold. We’ve also seen over 20,000 small business owners apply for our £25,000 Business Boost grant this year – which speaks volumes to the financial pressure SMEs are facing right now.
“Accounting for over 99% of all businesses and contributing trillions of pounds towards the economy, the government has to acknowledge the vital role small businesses will play in our collective recovery. And while it’s encouraging to see that 71% remain confident about their long-term prospects, ultimately, for our economy to bounce back as quickly as possible, we need to support our small businesses to do the same.”
