Cost of living crisis: Firms across Britain are forced to shut because of spiralling energy bills

As the cost-of-living crisis in Britain continues, dozens of British companies are forced to shut down.

Particularly small businesses have struggled to keep up with rising food and energy costs. They are calling for government intervention immediately.

This comes at the same time inflation hit double figures, hitting 10.1% for the first-time in over 40 years.

An estimated 45 million individuals will be unable to pay their winter energy bills due to the expected rises of price caps. 

According to a University of York report, 18 million families are likely to struggle just enough after the predicted increases in energy costs in January and October. 

Martin McTague (national chair of Federation of Small Businesses) has stated that rising taxes and energy costs as well as inflation are causing a toxic cocktail, which means it is urgent to take action.  

He stated that the “cost of living crisis cannot be resolved without dealing with the cost of doing businesses crisis.” 

Yorkshire restaurant boss, Marco Di Rienzo has been forced to close his business after five years because of a £2,000 monthly bill.

Yorkshire restaurant boss, Marco Di Rienzo (pictured) has been forced to close his business after five years because of a £2,000 monthly bill

Santoni on Airedale Road in Keighley, an upmarket Italian restaurant (pictured), is still very popular. However, the increasing cost of living means that the owner cannot afford to close the business.

Santoni is a high-end Italian restaurant on Airedale Road. Keighley continues to be popular. But, due to the increasing cost of living and higher prices overall, Mr Di Rienzo now has no other choice.    

Yorkshire Live: He said that the main issue is “what’s ahead.”

“I feel there’s a difficult year ahead …. with high food and energy prices.

With his business facing rising gas and electric bills of up to 40%, the monthly bill would be rising from roughly £1,200 a month in the summer to £1,800, he said.

Winter monthly bills would be closer to £2,000. 

The restaurant’s food costs are becoming too high, according to Mr Di Rinzo. Since March, a 20-litre drum of vegetable oil had risen from about £20 to £42. 

Imported Italian mozzarella cheese had also gone up from £6 per kilo to more than £7 and San Marzano tomatoes had gone up from around £8.70 to £11.20 per kilo. 

Clare Ransom said the electricity bill for Railway Tea Rooms, in Belper, Derbyshire, had increased by 254 per cent to £415 a month

 The owner of a tea room in Derbyshire also has fears her business may close unless she gets more support to cope with soaring energy bills.   

Clare Ransom said the electricity bill for Railway Tea Rooms, in Belper, Derbyshire, had increased by 254 per cent to £415 a month.

According to her, some food prices have also risen dramatically.

Ms Ransom stated that she worried about losing her home if her business was shut down.

BBC Derby, she said:[The electricity bill]The electric has increased by 254%. This is insane.

‘I physically cannot afford to pay £415 a month just for my electric.’

“I feel extremely anxious and do not know what I will do.

“I fear I might lose my house because of all this.”

Ms Ransom stated that the government “needs” to help her, and added that the absence of support was a “disgrace”.

According to latest statistics from the Office of National Statistics, a slew of grocery items has outpaced inflation. The average cost of low-fat milk increased by 34% over the last 12 months.

Another two Stoke-on-Trent businesses are facing a similar cost-of-living crisis.

Jenny Taylor of The Teapot Cafe in Milton, the owner and operator of this cafe said that her energy costs had doubled already and she was worried about its future.

“Sometimes, I just sit there and think about what the point is.” She said,

Ms Taylor said, speaking to BBC Newsnight: “It is so difficult, continuously robbing Peter, payment Paul, moving money about all the time just for to keep open.

Jenny Taylor, the owner of The Teapot Cafe in Milton, said that her energy bills have already increased by two times and she was worried about its future.

“Before Christmas, I thought it was cheaper to be closed.

“This cafe is everything for me. It is essential to the community.

“I think that this energy price increase, scare, or whatever you want to call it, just the icing upon the cake… it could even start many small businesses.

January can be quiet. It is also a long month. It is frightening.

Anita Gill (who runs Busy Bugs Nursery) said that her energy costs had increased 50% just a short distance away from The Teapot.

Anita Gill (pictured), who manages Busy Bugs Nursery said that her energy bills have increased by half

She explained that she has rooms in which the heat is turned off. This allows us to gather in one place, and the children can be in the same room.

“But there are only so many things we can do.”

She called for the government’s intervention.

“We’ve had people look at the business and value it, as I think it’s time to retire.

‘As a small business, there is no way I can find that extra £12k to cover this quarter’, Mr Tang said. The ONS reports rising costs.

A Chinese takeaway in Aberdeen may also be forced to close after it was hit with a £10,000 gas bill – 10 times more than what they would usually owe. 

Aberdeen, Martin Tang who is the owner of Royal Crown on Crombie Road said that he was shocked to [his]Core’ upon receiving the bill.

The takeaway, which has been serving locals since the 1980s, normally has a quarterly bill for roughly £1,000.

However, after the latest bill, Mr Tang said the price hike could leave staff jobless as the business is losing money whenever they cook, he claims.  

Since 1998, Mr Tang was involved with the business in a managerial capacity and as an owner. BBC Scotland told him he won’t be able pay the energy provider’s price.

Martin Tang, who is the owner of Royal Crown on Crombie Road in Aberdeen (pictured), said that he was shocked to [his]Core’ after he got the bill

He stated, “It’s always around one thousand or slightly higher than one thousand.”

‘But this one I recently received on Saturday was like a bombshell, on top of the new electric bill I received last week which was £4,000.

‘As a small business, there is no way I can find that extra £12k to cover this quarter.

“I have already high blood pressure and this really shocked me.”

Takeaway is only open five nights per week. Mr Tang stated that he would be opening this week to stock up on fresh inventory and say good-bye to customers.

He explained that he lost money every time he turned on a stove to make something.

“This will kill my business.

“There’s nothing you can do.”

‘Imagine me telling a customer their chicken curry is now going to be £28.

“There is no other way.

Royal Crown has three part-time employees and two full-time staff members. If the restaurant is closed, they will face unemployment.  

Inflation will rise to 13% according to predictions by the Bank of England

In July, the headline CPI rate was 10.1%. This is well ahead of analysts’ expectations of 9.8%. The CPI rate was 9.4% higher than the month before.

 New stats reveal the headline CPI rate reached 10.1 per cent in July – well above analysts’ predictions of 9.8 per cent. This was primarily due to fuel and food price increases, which were 9.4% in July.

This is the highest level of inflation since February 1982 when it was 10.4 percent. It comes in the midst of a crisis in cost-of living that has seen prices rise on everything, from packages holidays to food and drink to toothbrushes.

According to latest statistics from the Office of National Statistics, a slew of grocery items has outperformed the inflation rate. The average cost of low-fat milk increased by 34% over the last 12 months according to ONS data.  

Aberdeen’s Beachfront Swimming Pool is one of the services that will be temporarily shut down due to rising electricity costs.

Sport Aberdeen is the arm-length body that manages the Beach Leisure Centre of the council. It stated the pool will be closed starting 21 August.

This decision was made due to increasing heating costs. It will be reviewed during the spring, when it is hoped that it can re-open.

Aberdeen’s Beachfront Swimming Pool is one of the services that will be temporarily shut down due to rising electricity costs

Sport Aberdeen gave a warning to their members that the cost of living has risen unprecedented.  

Meanwhile, in Stockton, Durham, a pub is being turned into an Islamic school and community hub. 

The Queen Victoria was reportedly closing after decades of service to the community.

After struggling to cope with rising living costs, Paul Alderson and Judith Alderson were forced to finish their last pints Monday night. Admiral Taverns, a pub company, decided to close the venue. They claimed that it was not sustainable long-term. 

Dawat-Islami is a global charity that has purchased the Yarm Road building to be used as an education center. 

It is anticipated to be ready in three months.

Another pub, which dates back to Bath’s 280th anniversary is under threat of closure. 

Radstock is 10 miles from Bath. The Faulkland Tavern opened in Radstock during the time George II was King and Britain was at War with Spain.

The soaring energy prices seem too difficult despite having survived more than a dozen recessions as well as two world wars. 

According to the Guardian, eight people are losing their jobs as the village pub faces closure. This is because the landlord cannot afford to pay the electricity bills.

‘Our gas and energy bills have doubled since April and we’re facing annual fuel costs of at least £20,000, which will wipe out our profits,’ says the landlord, Andy Machen.

‘Until April we needed to make £2,500 over the four days a week we are open in order to break even; now we’d need to make £4,000 and are paying staff out of our personal savings.’ 

Due to the rising cost of fuel, the pub is just one of many hospitality venues in the UK at risk. 

Businesses that pay twice the rate of gas or electricity at the Ofgem regulator in Great Britain are exempt from the energy price cap. 

Small businesses do not receive the same support as householders who will be eligible for government assistance to pay their energy bills. 

Radstock’s Faulkland Inn, located 10 miles away from Bath, was first open to the public in 1895, when George II was on throne, and Britain was fighting with Spain.

Because of rising fuel costs, many pubs are at risk of being closed down.

Machen purchased the inn three years back with his wife. 

He says that the government provided thousands of pounds for us to get through the pandemic. At the beginning of this year, we had plans to expand our guest accommodation and were on track to recovery. 

The bills increased by a factor of two and the budget was not prepared for. Although our eight employees will be eligible for government assistance to pay their energy bills, they won’t have jobs because the state can’t.   

Due to the rise in the price of natural gas and partly because of the conflict in Ukraine, energy bills have risen dramatically in the last months.

Cost of living is a major issue for the Tory leader race. Rishi Sunak has promised direct support to families in enduring an ‘extremely difficult’ winter. Liz Truss will not accept any “handouts”.

Mr Sunak said that, if elected, he would extend the package of support he announced earlier this year, which gave every household £400 off their energy bills, while those on means-tested benefits received a further £650.

The price rises are also threatening to force the closure of a Watford fish and chips shop.  

Two-years-old, the Great Bushey Fish and Chip Shop is located in Bushey Mill Lane.

Mehmet Akkaya who is part the family running the shop fears that it will have to close.

He stated that there was a chance of closing.

“The meat and fish prices have gone up in recent years. This is only the beginning, and I believe that prices will continue to rise.

“We don’t get any assistance and are having trouble paying the bills.”

Watford was also home to another seafood firm that had to relocate.

On Monday night, Eddie Mair, LBC, spoke to one caller who said that they were closing down their UK company and moving to the Netherlands because it was unable to operate due to high energy costs in the UK.

 ‘We just gave up,’ Lee in Watford said, whose 40-year-old company managed 11 storage and distribution centres for fresh seafood across the UK.

Lee stated that the company has already taken in 30-40% of rising energy prices, but they can’t pass the remaining 260% to private customers or restaurants.

According to the business owner, moving his company’s centers from Rotterdam would allow him to get an energy price cap of 5.5 percent and prevent bankruptcy. 

The UK business was closed by him last Friday (12 august). He said, “We are looking at 900 redundancies plus.”