New figures from the Federation of Small Businesses, which is calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to reduce the small business tax burden and the impact of employment cost hikes, reveal that nearly one in three small firms expect to shrink, sell up or shut down in the next 12 months.
Across the UK, 86% of small businesses fear the possibility of Budget announcements that, in their view, could negatively impact their plans for growth – according to new research from Novuna Business Finance.
In a YouGov survey of 1,244 small businesses across the country, rises to taxation and fuel duty topped the list of employers’ concerns.
“It’s hard not to feel as though we, as the employers, are not being treated as working people,” Ms Milavic-Davies says.
She says there is a “misunderstanding about employers having these bottomless reserves” but in the hospitality and personal care sectors, margins are becoming “razor thin”.