º£½ÇÊÓÆµ

Oops.

Our website is temporarily unavailable in your location.

We are working hard to get it back online.

PRIVACY
Economic Development

º£½ÇÊÓÆµ inflation: soaring petrol and energy costs forcing South West firms to hike prices

Businesses are experiencing a surge in costs across the board, affecting their ability to plan for the future

Simon Hurley, managing director of Rothko and Frost(Image: Business West)

Business owners in the West Country are growing increasingly concerned about the impact of inflation, with many saying they are being forced to hike prices as they battle with soaring costs.

An economic survey of some 400 firms by chamber of commerce Business West found nearly two-thirds are worried about rising costs - up from 63% in the first quarter of 2022 and the highest level recorded since the survey question was introduced in 2008.

The results come as the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ’s annual rate of inflation reached a 40-year-high in May.

Businesses are experiencing a surge in costs across the board, affecting their ability to plan for the future, Business West said. Labour costs and utilities, such as energy, are the top drivers of pressure on prices (64%), followed by transport fuel and raw materials (53%).

More than half of the businesses surveyed increased their prices over the last three months and 64% of manufacturers and 50% of service-based firms said they would do so in the next three.

Simon Hurley, managing director of Rothko and Frost, a decorative materials firm based at Mitcheldean in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, said the cost of metal tins used for paint had doubled, while solvent costs were up 20% since the pandemic.

“Shipping has doubled. Staff standards of living have decreased due to inflation and stagnant wages,” he said.

“Banks aren’t lending, and customers are spending less. Our annual sales are about half a million down as a direct consequence of Brexit, on top of everything else we’ve had to cope with.”