We asked small businesses about how they will be impacted by significant energy price hikes this year. Their responses are below.

Small businesses voice their concerns about soaring energy prices

"With the increases in energy prices and also the increase of NI contributions in April, small businesses are going to be hit especially hard in more than one way. Reviews will need to take place to see where cost savings can be made and the biggest cost, sadly, is people. Equally, employees may have to re-evaluate their own income and small businesses could see an increase in staff turnover, which creates additional financial pressure as the average cost to replace an employee is 50% of their salary for the first year. Support needs to be looked at for those businesses affected and now, not once the increases have happened."

Kate Underwood

Kate Underwood is all about honest, no-nonsense HR that actually works for small businesses. With a background in some of the world’s best-known brands, she now brings that big business know-how to smaller teams who want to get things right without all the faff. She believes businesses work best when people and strategy are in sync. When goals are clear, people feel supported, and everyone actually wants to show up. Kate’s style is practical, empowering and refreshingly jargon-free. She helps business owners build simple, effective HR processes that support great culture, good communication and confident leadership. She’s also a self-confessed HR tech geek and is known for her love of apps, gadgets and anything that saves time and stress. Her approach helps cut out the chaos so teams can focus on what really matters. No more sleepless nights, awkward chats or endless paperwork. Just HR that actually helps.

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"I am genuinely terrified about rising energy bills. My provider went bust recently and we were moved to Shell and they have just ‘suggested’ we increase our monthly direct debit by £90 a month. I’m a wholesale baker working from home with several ovens on the go. I'm not sure how long will I be able to keep going on swallowing the increases."

Gillian Ferguson

Empire Biscuits but not as you know them. They’re twisted and vegan. Currently providing a ‘Build Your Own Twisted Empire’ experience online.

"The rate at which energy prices are rising is going to have a disastrous impact on British manufacturers who already pay much higher prices than competitors in Europe and the rest of the world."

Lucinda O'Reilly

I set up the International Trade Consultancy to help British manufacturers, especially SMEs, to continue exporting and importing in the new regulatory environment resulting from Brexit. The requirement for import and export declarations, complying with rules of origin and determining whether duty is payable have put off a lot of companies that were successfully engaging in international trade prior to Brexit. My mission is to educate and support these companies so they have the confidence to continue supplying existing customers abroad and expand in to new markets. It's not as hard as people think!

"In general I feel that businesses are seen as a blank cheque book with endless cashflow so it really wouldn't surprise me if businesses are given a different price cap to residential and rates spiral out of control. The squeeze on SMEs is already frightening with many of us putting a stop to investments because a majority of suppliers are sending weekly price increase emails. This could well be the straw that breaks the backs of a number of small businesses."

Adam Bamford

Natalie oversees the running of Colleague Box, ensuring the team are happy and productive and champions the community aspect of the business to make sure we are giving back to the community as well looking out for small independent businesses. 

Natalie Bamford

"Oil prices have been steadily increasing since May 2020 and the cost of energy has followed suit. However the price of gas and electricity has rocketed in recent months. Increased demand from China and low stored supplies are two drivers, along with the fact that more than 25 energy suppliers have gone bust in recent months. This pushes consumers onto higher tariffs with new suppliers. These higher costs are doubly felt by the public not only in higher household fuel bills but by businesses in higher running costs, contributing to inflation, and putting more strain on the end consumer."

Rob Peters

Rob has a background as an independent consultant making financial services safe and accessible for consumers. Previously also a HNW financial adviser he now runs a high-quality mortgage brokerage, Simple Fast Mortgage. Rob holds the Dip PFS, MAQ & ER qualifications.

Rob's industry expertise has been engaged by professional service companies such as Price Waterhouse Cooper, KPMG, Grant Thornton, and Deloitte, high-street banks, financial service boutiques, and the regulator; the Financial Conduct Authority. 

Over a 20 year career Rob often saw customers receiving poor quality financial & mortgage advice, resulting in inappropriate, or high-cost products being recommended. This inspired Rob to offer the benefit of his experience directly to those who would benefit from it most and Simple Fast Mortgage was created.

"Huge energy rises will have a dramatic impact on the mortgage market. As advisors, we need to ensure that mortgages are affordable for all clients, so rises in monthly expenditure will affect how much clients can borrow. As a result, it could lead to people being able to borrow less than before."

Joe Stallard

Joe’s early career has seen him work in a more corporate background, successfully fulfilling marketing roles for some top UK names.

But in 2017, Joe took the step to join the family business and is now working closely with Mark to grow and build House and Holiday Home Mortgages in line with some challenging targets. 

Together, their goal is to help as many people as possible to meet their mortgage needs and secure the best deal for them. With a specific focus on holiday let mortgages, they are determined to remove the stress and hassle from the mortgage process.

In his spare time, Joe loves anything sport with a particular affiliation to Swindon Town, Gloucester Rugby and Hampshire Cricket. And if it’s not sport, Joe likes to spend his time socialising with friends and travelling to new places all over the globe.

"Mortgage affordability will be affected, as lenders will need to factor in much higher energy prices. Combined with higher inflation generally and rising interest rates, we expect mortgage deals to be more difficult to secure in 2022 than 2021."

Graham Cox

Graham Cox is an entrepreneur and the founder of Bridginghub.com, an independent, commercial finance broker serving clients all over the UK. The company sources regulated and unregulated bridging loans for property investors, developers and homeowners, as well as commercial mortgages and development finance.

Small businesses voice their concerns about soaring energy prices

7 responses from the Newspage community
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Kate Underwood

Managing Director / HR Director at Kate Underwood HR and Training

Gillian Ferguson

Owner at Twisted Empire Bakes

Lucinda O'Reilly

Director at The International Trade Consultancy

Adam Bamford

COO at Colleague Box

Rob Peters

Principal at Simple Fast Mortgage

Joe Stallard

Director and Advisor at House and Holiday Home Mortgages

Graham Cox

Director at Bridging Hub

7 responses from the Newspage communityCopy all

7 responses from the Newspage community
Copy all