• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Business and Economics Business

‘Ticking timebomb’: 500,000 small businesses may go bust ‘within weeks’

Small firms are facing a "ticking time bomb" without further support, industry chiefs warned.

Henry Goodwin by Henry Goodwin
2022-05-30 13:01
in Business
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Close to half a million small businesses are at risk of going bust within weeks, with rising costs creating a “ticking timebomb” for smaller firms.

According to the Federation of Small Businesses, scores of employees could lose their jobs within weeks unless the government rolls out targeted measures for embattled employers.

“We don’t have any problem with the way the chancellor dealt with consumer needs,” Martin McTague – the FSB’s chairman – told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “But there is still a massive problem with small businesses. 

“They are facing something like twice the rate of inflation for their production prices, and it’s a ticking timebomb. They have got literally weeks left before they run out of cash and that will mean hundreds of thousands of businesses, and lots of people losing their jobs.”

‘Serious trouble’

McTague pointed to figures from the Office for National Statistics, which showed that 40 per cent of the UK’s small businesses – some two million firms – had less than three months’ worth of cash to support their operations.

Of those two million, he said about ten per cent – or 200,000 – were in “serious trouble”, while a further 300,000 “have only got weeks left”.

He said: “It is a very real possibility because… they don’t have the cash reserves. They don’t have any way they can tackle this problem.”

RelatedPosts

McDonald’s to pay France huge sum in tax fraud case

Sainsbury’s CEO’s pay triples as supermarket rejects living wage calls

What’s to blame? Car industry suffers horrendous decline as chip shops beg Norway for fish to save businesses

Bonuses in City ‘at record high’ as ‘demoralised’ nurses ‘driven out’ of profession

Highlighting the case of a hotel owner in Scarborough, whose profits were wiped out by soaring energy bills five times higher than normal, he added: “They weren’t able to trade any longer without essentially trading at a loss and therefore damaging the future of their business and everybody that worked for them.”

Covid bailout

Businesses have been battered by the increased cost of living, with factory input prices increasing by 18.6 per cent over the past year – a record high. Many firms are raising their prices as a result, fading into inflationary pressure across the UK.

McTague warned that, without further government help, the Treasury’s efforts to keep businesses afloat throughout the Covid-19 pandemic would go to waste.

“The chancellor spent approximately £45bn making sure those businesses survive the Covid crisis,” he told the BBC. 

“Are we seriously expecting him now to abandon them just as they’ve managed to get through one crisis and effectively lose that money for the taxpayer?”

Related: Richard Madeley slammed for urging people to ‘ignore councils rules’ about Jubilee parties

Tags: Cost Of Living Crisis

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

TLE drives: The Caterham Seven 620S

Forgotten Film Friday: The Innocents (1961)

The Edge Of Seventeen: Film Review and Competition

Arsenal walk a tightrope – again

Frederick Achom unravels the secrets of a successful Fintech start-up

Britain’s longest serving firefighter hangs up his helmet

Kwasi Kwarteng tight-lipped over Nissan bung

Princess Kaguya – Film Review

Nigel Farage hits out at ‘hoaxers’ amid speculation only 21 people attended first US tour date

UK’s ‘smallest pub’ ready for lockdown reopening

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.