16 Nov UK businesses facing cliff-edge when Government support ends
The Autumn Statement has already been predicted to include tax rises and spending cuts amidst a challengingeconomic forecast. With the Energy Bill Relief Scheme still due to end in April, company owners are fearing a profound blow to their finances as bills skyrocket and a recession looms.
The hospitality industry is one particularly at risk as a new report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that food and drink service businesses are more likely than any other sector to cut opening hours to cope with huge increases on energy bills. Further to that, the British Chamber of Commerce has found that small and medium sized businesses will struggle to pay their energy bills come April when the Government support ends. More support is needed for businesses who are facing a cliff edge as the spring approaches, such as strategies to significantly lower their energy usage and bills.
In light of the dire situation ahead for UK firms, SaveMoneyCutCarbon, the UKs leading sustainability and money saving platform, offers a free 30-minute carbon mentor call for those seeking guidance on a strategy for sustainability, advice on where to start, what ROI to expect, budgets, and what could be achieved through green initiatives.
Across the board, the energy crisis is already eating into a majority of businesses’ profit margins, with SMEs across the country facing an average bill increase of over 250% in the last year alone, according to Cornwall Insight. In addition, a report by the Federation of Small Business found that 53% of small businesses will stagnate, decline or fold in the next 12 months. This is even more concerning when you consider that 53% of SMEs in the UK are not doing anything to monitor their energy efficiency, and are likely spending far more than they may need to on energy costs. SaveMoneyCutCarbon, explain that shopping around and switching tariffs to reduce energy bills has become obsolete.
The British Chambers of Commerce project that less than half (43%) of UK firms are expecting profitability in the next 12 months, whilst 1-in-4 hospitality and leisure businesses fear closing this year due to the inability to afford energy costs, according to eEnergy. In the wake of this setback, a new study from SaveMoneyCutCarbon has found that over half (51%) of employers in the UK still don’t know where or how to start reducing their carbon emissions. This is supported by research from Ecologi, which found that 42% of SME owners in the UK believe that it’s important to be sustainable, but struggle because of a lack of guidance.
