UK businesses need help, need to be encouraged to invest in growth while the business rates system needs an overhaul to address the huge gap between physical and online retailing, Dr Jason Wouhra, CEO of Lioncroft Wholesale, has said.
Sharing his views with Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, Dr Wouhra called on the newly-elected Labour government to understand the climate in which businesses operate and the challenges they face so as to make a real and sustainable difference.
"As a Commissioner for the Business Commission West Midlands, I speak on behalf of business owners and leaders across the country.
"The challenges of the past five years have been immense – from the pandemic to Brexit, from the war in Ukraine to stock availability and labour shortage issues."
Dr Wouhra runs Lioncroft Wholesale, a leading independent food and drink wholesale business, supplying 10,000 convenience retailers in the West Midlands. He raised the issue of workers' safety, pay cost, business rates and investments in businesses among "some very clear asks of this new government".
"Within our sector – wholesale and retail – there needs to be a tightening of rules to ensure our people and our businesses are protected. Despite rising levels of violence committed against shop workers (which also extends into wholesale) and record incidents of shoplifting, there is currently no justice for those committing such crimes.
"Crimes of this kind are not a priority for the police and we implore the new government to introduce stronger penalties to ensure there are clear deterrents for this type of crime which, last year, cost the retail sector more than £1.8bn and resulted in more than 8,800 reported injuries. Put simply, our people deserve better."
"Everyone in business recognises the very real need to pay people fairly, but the cost implications of a rising minimum wage level are crippling, especially when teamed with escalating costs to do business, plus the need to continually innovate and invest in business to succeed," Dr Wouhra wrote, adding the "knock-on effects" on pensions and National Insurance contributions.
Dr Wouhra also called on the government to overhaul the business rates systems to address the huge gap between physical and online retailing to ensure both can exist alongside without financial penalty.
He also demanded the government to support the businesses that are "looking to thrive rather than just survive".
He wrote, "Businesses need to be encouraged to invest in growth, so could this new government be the one to introduce a range of incentives that rewards those looking to thrive rather than just survive? This could be a more favourable tax regime or tax credits for those investing in research and development? How can businesses be encouraged to hire more workers, perhaps access to free or low-cost training programmes?
"Can businesses be encouraged to invest in green energy solutions with grants and additional financial support?"
