Latest news with #costincreases
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Costs have increased for almost 80% of small businesses in past six months, CCI survey says
In the last six months, 77 per cent of small businesses have seen costs increase, with staff costs most frequently noted as a cause, a survey has found. Small practices said they found coping with staff costs more challenging than their larger counterparts, with half of respondents noting it as the single biggest financial issue against an average of 37 per cent, according to the small and medium enterprise (SME) business sentiment survey. . The survey, conducted by Chartered Accountants Ireland (CCI) and business lender, GRID Finance, found that operation costs (24 per cent) and the costs of regulatory compliance (at 14 per cent) were the other largest financial challenges. The chief executive of GRID Finance, Eoin Christian, said this aligns with prior research, which found that 'rising costs, particularly staff-related expenses are creating significant pressure on Irish SMEs'. READ MORE Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of small businesses are less optimistic about the economic future than they were six months ago, with 62 per cent of respondents reporting that their business operations have been impacted by global trade tensions or tariffs. Only 14 per cent of SMEs feel prepared for a further escalation of tariffs, and 36 per cent of respondents forecast their business being worse off this time next year. Against this backdrop, 28 per cent of small and medium size businesses reported increased profitability in the last six months, but nearly the same number, 26 per cent, reported that profit had decreased. Within that sample, smaller scale companies saw greater stability, with more than half of respondents noting profitability had remained the same as the year prior. Just 40 per cent of respondents feel adequately informed about auto-enrolment, which comes into effect in January 2026. CCI's director of members and advocacy, Cróna Clohisey, welcomed the decision to defer the launch of the process until the new year 'particularly in view of the feeling of unpreparedness many businesses expressed in this survey'. 'Many remain very unclear as to what is expected of them in advance of the new system launching,' she said, calling for the Government to conduct an awareness campaign to address the 'information deficit'. Ms Clohisey also raised an 'evident mismatch between the need for supports and the uptake of those on offer' highlighted by the findings of the survey. While 40 per cent of SMEs had called for the introduction of tax relief and incentive schemes, just 16 per cent of respondents had availed of them. A similar gap existed with help meeting energy costs among the nearly 300 respondents from organisations with fewer than 250 employees.
Irish Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Agri-Food Regulator ‘concerned' at level of unfair trade practices
The head of the Agri-Food Regulator is 'concerned' by the level of unfair trading practices reported by suppliers in the industry, following the authority's inaugural supplier survey. The survey, which focused on compliance with the unfair trading regulations and general trading issues, found that the biggest issue facing suppliers was cost increases at inflation, with 70 per cent of respondents citing the problem. 'Costs are continuing to rise and we are struggling to keep pace with these cost increases,' one supplier said. Retailer and buyer challenges (24 per cent), raw material and ingredient availability (22 per cent), and labour market and wage pressures (18 per cent) were also cited frequently by suppliers as the issues facing the industry. READ MORE While Agri-Food Regulator chief executive Niamh Lenehan said there is 'a lot to be positive about' within the survey's findings, she said, 'I am concerned that 14 per cent of respondents reported experiences that they characterised as unfair trading practices.' 'In particular, it is concerning that some suppliers reported that they may not raise a potential breach of [Unfair Trade] Regulations with either their buyer or with the regulator itself.' The most common issues faced by suppliers were being forced to pay for loss or product deterioration and delayed payments. Respondents noted fears that the buyer would 'retaliate in the future' if they reported unfair trade practices, and concerns they could be 'blacklisted'. Ms Lenehan said less than half of respondents were aware that the regulator has a confidential complaint process, which she said indicates it has 'a significant amount of work to do'. The chief executive said the results of the survey will inform its work going forward and will be used in the 'development of guidelines for buyers and the conducting of further risk-based inspections with respect to compliance with unfair trading law'.
Bloomberg
17-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
When Your Favorite Restaurant Becomes a Statistic
Statistics don't hit home — until they do. At the end of 2024, Price Bailey, one of the top chartered accountancy firms in the UK, released a report saying that perhaps 6,000 of the UK's nearly 51,000 restaurants would close in a year. Of about 10,000 that were technically insolvent, the firm's risk analysis estimated that 12% were liable to default on debt. For small, family-run businesses, the litany of costs is titanic. A blog by the chef of one such restaurant lamented 'rising food costs, an increase in the national minimum wage and salaries [and] endless payments' to the British tax authorities. It got cheaper napkins, diminished the wine list, created a customer-friendlier tasting menu, reduced prices, took out more loans and fired its expensive accountants.
