FSB: help needed for snow-hit businesses
The Government, banks and landlords need to act to provide some breathing space for small businesses as they struggle in the cold snap, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged.
The FSB estimated the bad weather is costing the UK economy between £600m-£1bn a dayand fears many small businesses will not survive with confidence levels low and a VAT rise due in january.
The FSB is calling for:
• The Government to extend its Time to Pay scheme to allow small businesses time to recoup lost takings in order to have the cash-flow to be able to pay
• Landlords to push back rent reviews due in the New Year
• Local Councils to use their powers to grant hardship relief and temporarily reduce business rate bills for those businesses in financial difficulty
• Banks, utilities and insurers to give small businesses some breathing space
yesterday Tennent's announced it was extending its credit terms by four weeks to its direct free-trade customers in Scotland in a bid to help snow-hit pubs.
"Small businesses were banking on a good Christmas to make up for a bad year and the prospect of more bad news in 2011," said FSB national chairman John Walker.
"Many shops and restaurants have taken on additional seasonal staff to cope with the anticipated demand of the Christmas season, but last weekend saw a drop in footfall of up to 30%, leaving businesses with increased overheads and falling trade.
"The last thing this Government needs is a wave of bankruptcies and shop closures in 2011, but small firms will find it very difficult to bounce back in the New Year when VAT increases to 20% and the spending cuts start to bite.
"We need to see a co-ordinated effort from Government, banks, local authorities and landlords to give small businesses some breathing space to recover in the New Year."
