NW business owners prepare for minimum wage hit

According to research by the Northern Business Exhibition, two out of five business owners expect the rise in minimum wage on April 1, to have a direct impact on profitability and turnover over the coming weeks.

Forty 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 past six months.

A third (32%), said that people already seem to have less disposable cash and 15% said their business was already in decline.

Just one in 10 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 April 1.

As a direct result, business owners are already preparing to take action – a quarter of those questioned said they would be increasing their prices while 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%), restaurants and bars (28%) and manufacturers (32%) are expected to feel the most impact.

A whopping nine out of 10 business owners raised concerns over the current state of the British economy, saying that things could be better. Just one in 10 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 April 18-19, at Manchester Central with a wealth of industry leaders providing seminars and talks, one-on-one expert advise and a competition with a £5,000 prize to help the winner get their idea off the ground.

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