North West business owners are preparing to take another hit to their profits as the UK national minimum wage is set to rise on 1 April.
According to research by the Northern Business Exhibition two out of five business owners expect the rise in minimum wage to have direct impact on profitability and turnover over the coming weeks.
40 per cent surveyed feared the rise in minimum wage could put their business at the risk of closure due to the spiralling running costs over the last six months. A third (32 per cent), said that people already seem have less disposable cash and 15 per cent said their business was already in decline.
Just one in ten said that the changes in minimum wage did not put their business in risk of closure.
Of those asked, two thirds of business owners were aware of the changes to minimum wages on 1 April.
As a direct result, business owners are already preparing to take action, a quarter of those questioned said they would be increasing their prices whilst one in five thought they’d be cutting down on unnecessary staff hours to keep the wage bill down. One in three said they would be cutting down on other business costs to accommodate the rise in wages.
Retailers (31 per cent), restaurants and bars (28 per cent) and manufacturers (32 per cent) are expected to feel the most impact.
A whopping nine out of ten business owners raised concerns over the current state of the British economy, saying that things could be better. Just one in ten felt that business was booming.
Hilary Devey, Key note speaker for the Northern Business Exhibition said: “It’s a critical time for business owners at the minute having to adapt to change quickly to safe guard their business – overheads have been rising considerably over the last six months and the end consumer is already feeling the pinch on their pocket.
“Businesses are having to work harder to turn a profit, we’ve seen some big names fall victim to this who’ve perhaps not been able to react to change at the same pace others have. The Northern Business Exhibition is a great place for entrepreneurs and business owners to come and seek advice to help their business flourish.”
The largest business show in the North of England, The Northern Business Exhibition takes place on 18 & 19 April at Manchester Central with a wealth of industry leaders providing seminars and talks, one-on-one expert advise and a competition for one lucky business to win £5,000 to help get their idea off the ground.
For free tickets and more information visit: https://
