Latest news with #TheoPaphitis
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Dragons' Den icon Theo Paphitis warns 'high streets will not survive if shops are hit in next Budget'
Dragons' Den icon Theo Paphitis has warned of mass closures if shops are hit even harder at the next Budget. The businessman, who owns the stationary chain Ryman, issued a stark warning that the UK high street may not survive further tax hikes. Companies are already being hit with hefty business rates - with speculation growing Chancellor Rachel Reeves may pile on the pain in the autumn. Mr Paphitis highlighted the immense burden smaller businesses are carrying compared to online giants who are paying 'next to nothing'. Firms have also been battered by hikes in National Insurance contributions and an inflation-busting increase in the minimum wage which came into effect in April. Writing in The Sun, Mr Paphitis said: 'After everything the high street has been through, asking it to carry even more weight would be the final straw for many. 'The government must ensure that no shop pays more in the upcoming Autumn Budget.' He added: 'Once a shop shuts, it is far harder and costlier to bring it back, meaning each closure represents a long-term wound to the health of the high street.' Mr Paphitis has previously criticised the business rates system, which he says the government has failed to properly reform. He argued that it unfairly hits bricks and mortar businesses, while online and technology giants only face the tax on their warehouses. Mr Paphitis's comments come as store closures this year are predicted to top 17,000 this year. It is the highest figure since the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), which compiled the report, began collecting the data in 2015 and follows the closure of 13,479 stores last year. The vast majority of closed shops in 2024 – 11,341 – were independent retailers, a 45.5 per cent jump against the previous year. Business leaders have called for the Chancellor to 'urgently' change course with her tax-raising policies to prevent British high streets from becoming ghost towns. The CRR's forecast of 17,350 store closures would make 2025 worse than 2022, when the withdrawal of government support measures following the pandemic caused 17,151 shops to close. Around 16,145 stores shut their doors at the height of lockdown in 2020. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR previously said: 'Whilst the results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse to come in 2025.' Of the predicted 2025 figure, the vast majority of store closures, 14,660, are expected to be independent retailers. These firms usually operate on very tight profit margins and may not have enough cash to cover the cost of the Treasury's tax raid and minimum wage hikes. 'This is a tragic scenario that we warned the government could come to pass if they did not change course,' said Andrew Goodacre, head of the British Independent Retailers Association. He added: 'Overall costs for independent retailers are going up and the planned increases in National Insurance, minimum wage and business rates will leave many with no choice but to shut up shop.' Ms Reeves declared in October that employers would pay a 15 per cent National Insurance rate on staff salaries exceeding £5,000 from April rather than the current 13.8 per cent levy on wages above £9,100. She also said the National Living Wage would go up by 77p to £12.21 per hour, alongside increases in the capital gains tax rates on selling business assets. Retailers have been among those leading the charge against the Chancellor's punishing tax measures. In November, more than 80 bosses signed an open letter to Reeves warning that her Budget plans would force them to hike prices, cut jobs and close stores. Signatories included the heads of high street giants Marks & Spencer, Next and John Lewis as well as the major supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Asda. Meanwhile, firms have called for ministers to reform the business rates system to make physical shops more competitive with their online counterparts.
The Sun
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis warns of mass closures if shops are squeezed even more at Budget
DRAGONS' Den TV star Theo Paphitis has warned of mass closures if shops are squeezed even more at the Budget. The retail magnate said the high street would not survive further tax hikes after already being hit by hefty business rates. After backing Labour, he now highlights the 'immense burden' compared to online giants paying 'next to nothing'. Over 17,000 shops are tipped to shut this year. And speculation has grown Chancellor Rachel Reeves will pile on the pain. Writing in The Sun, Mr Paphitis says: 'After everything the high street has been through, asking it to carry even more weight would be the final straw for many. 'The government must ensure that no shop pays more in the upcoming Autumn Budget.' The Ryman boss took aim at a business rates system 'for a different age' where retail pays 20 per cent of all the receipts. Warning of a High Street hammer blow, he said: 'The loss is not just economic - it chips away at the social fabric, reducing spaces where people meet, work and spend time. 'Once a shop shuts, it is far harder and costlier to bring it back, meaning each closure represents a long-term wound to the health of the high street.' 1 High street chain with 185 stores launches 70% off closing down sales ahead of 25 shops shutting
Powys County Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
L A Ink printing named best printing company in Wales
A former childminder from Powys who was looking for jobs after the children she cared for left for school is now running one of the best printing businesses in Wales. Lucy Humphreys founded Adfa-based L A Ink Printing Studio in 2013 after she noticed a request on Facebook for someone local to create business cards. The printing business has since gone on to win a string of national accolades including from the Corporate LiveWire Global Awards and The Perfect Gift Awards. The female-run company has also received recognition from Dragon's Den star Theo Paphitis after it was selected to join his exclusive 'Small Business Saturday' network. L A Ink Printing Studio was recently named the best of its kind in Wales after winning Printing Company of the Year at the Welsh Prestige Awards. 'We have worked hard to promote our small business and have a unique selling point from other printing companies,' Mrs Humphreys said. "I set up the business in 2013 when all the children I childminded left for school and due to our house being on the market I was unable to fill spaces. "I applied for lots of jobs but never got picked. I was looking online when I noticed a request on Facebook for someone local to create some business cards. As I had always made my own business cards, I answered the request and that's how I got started. "I soon realised that many small companies couldn't afford to pay for logos and custom stationery to brand themselves and seem more professional and often struggled with businesses requiring minimum order quantities. "I grasped this niche in the market and answered all the requests for printed items, by offering a free design service and no minimum order requirements. "My business grew from there and within a few months I had to move out of the house and convert our garden shed into a workshop/office and took on a bigger lorry trailer in our new home. I outgrew that and so moved into a shed that had been my son's man cave until he moved away for university. It's also now been added onto and we may even need to expand further. "My daughter and my son's girlfriend have both worked with me and I put them both through an apprenticeship with NPTC and have also since gained my Green Growth Pledge and Equality pledge with Business Wales. Training and learning is at the forefront of my business ethic."
BBC News
24-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Shein and Temu tax-free parcels rule under review
Major retailers have welcomed the government's review of a rule that allows small parcels to enter the UK duty-free, saying it gives overseas firms such as Shein and Temu an unfair advantage over British Dragon's Den star Theo Paphitis, whose retail group includes the Ryman and Robert Dyas chains, told the BBC the measure was ruining UK High rule allows international retailers to send packages to the UK worth less than £135 without incurring import the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said scrapping the exemption, which many small businesses also use, could raise costs for them and their customers. Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, Mr Paphitis said retailers had been lobbying government "for a very, very long time", arguing the rule had had devasting impact "on our retail landscape and our high streets".He joined the bosses of Sainsbury's, Currys and the British Retail Consortium in welcoming the government's consultation on the Rachel Reeves announced on Wednesday that the government planned to review the customs treatment of low-value products entering the UK, after retailers complained they were being undercut by overseas businesses bringing in larger shipments have to pay taxes, and they also argue that cheaper goods might fail to meet the same environmental and ethical standards that they keep to. The so called "de mimimis" rule has received renewed interest after US president Donald Trump scrapped a similar measure in America amid his escalating trade war with China. Goods worth less than $800 into the US will soon be subject to charges, where they were previously exempt. The move has already prompted Chinese retailers to raise their the UK, there are further concerns that China will dump goods here to avoid the tariffs which Trump has imposed on Chinese goods."It's right to be concerned about potential future dumping of goods, as escalating tariffs applied by bigger global blocs against each other may mean a surge in goods arriving in markets like our own," said the chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, Tina she added that the government should proceed with caution in its de minimis consultation."With 16% of goods moved by small firms sitting below the £135 threshold, a decision to scrap it impacts on trading and inflation," she such as de mimimis were good for small and medium businesses, she added, and scrapping it might "ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers."But Mr Paphitis told the BBC it was "absolute nonsense" that the measure keeps inflation and prices down, as it led to a loss of jobs and tax revenue for the UK, as businesses lost out from trying to compete with cheaper foreign rivals. Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, welcomed the government consultation and said it showed Reeves was listening to retailers."A review of this policy, which was designed to reduce the burden on low volume, low value imports, was already needed. "With retailers seeing a rise in the number of potentially non-compliant products entering the UK market, it's even more critical now," she said.
