Lester said small and medium-sized firms had already had a “very challenging time”, particularly due to national insurance and minimum wage rises that have pushed up costs.
She added her rent has also increased by 30%.
“Businesses are supposed to be providing the growth that is going to get this country back up and running,” Lester said.
“Yet we’ve had not even a triple whammy. It’s multiple whammies.”
“This is going to be a further battening down of the hatches,” she continued.
Lester, who has been in business for 34 years, said the period after the Covid pandemic has been the hardest she has ever seen.