A body representing thousands of UK convenience stores has warned of “casualties on the high street” in response to the autumn budget.
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) released a statement within an hour of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ address to Parliament expressing concern over the cost to local shops – forecast by ACS at £666 million per year.
Rises in the national living wage and national minimum wage, a rise in employers’ national insurance contributions and a decrease in retail and hospitality rate relief were among the actions announced.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “The cold hard facts are that the measures announced in the past 24 hours have added two-thirds of a billion pounds to the direct cost base of the UK’s local shops.”
The ACS represents 50,000 convenience stores.
Lowman said many already face difficulty: “Trade is tough and operating costs are stubbornly high.
“This will be challenging for our members to absorb.”
But not everyone has opposed Reeves’ action plan as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) welcomed the employment allowance as a policy win.
The FSB tweeted: “Employment allowance has been raised – that’s £10,500 off every small employer’s National Insurance Bill every year.
“This is up from £5,000 and will be a huge help for small firms.”
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