Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

'Take urgent action to tackle £2.5bn energy cost to local shops'

'Take urgent action to tackle £2.5bn energy cost to local shops'
Pic by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images

Retailers body Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has written to the Chancellor, calling on the government to take emergency action to deal with the spiraling cost of energy which will cost convenience stores at least £2.5 billion this year.

For an average small convenience store at around 1,000 sqft, energy costs have skyrocketed to over £45,000 a year, more than doubling for many retailers that have renewed their contracts in recent months. For larger stores around 3000 sqft, these costs can be in excess of £100,000 a year.


ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “The Government needs to understand that this is an emergency. Thousands of convenience stores will be forced to make extremely difficult decisions in the face of tens of thousands of pounds of additional energy costs in the coming months, which at best will include cancelled investments, reduced staff hours and increased prices in stores, pushing up inflation even further. For some however, the cost of energy will make the business unviable, and so they will be forced to close unless action is taken to provide meaningful support.”

ACS is calling for urgent action to help retailers keep the lights on this winter, urging the Government to introduce a £570m rescue package made up of the following interventions:

  • Introduce a price cap on electricity for small businesses in line with the cap that is already in place in the domestic market (set for October 2022 at 52p per kWh for electricity). This should be applicable to all businesses that meet any of the criteria set out in Ofgem’s microbusiness definition, which are: a) fewer than 10 full time equivalent employees, b) electricity usage of less than 100,000 kWh per year, c) gas usage of less than 293,000 kWh per year, d) annual turnover of less than £1.7m per year.
  • Scrap business rates bills for all convenience stores from 1st October until the end of the financial year. The Government is currently supporting retailers through a 50 percent reduction in their business rates bill through to the end of the 2022-23 financial year, but we are calling for further action to increase that relief to 100 percent.
  • Freeze the business rates multipliers in 2023-24. The annual increase in the business rates multiplier is determined by the September rate of CPI (unless there is Government intervention). Currently, the September CPI rate is on track to reach 10 percent, resulting in a massive increase in rates bills next year. We are calling on the Government to continue to freeze the business rates multiplier, as they have since 2020.

“We have been calling on Ofgem for years to ensure that small businesses are treated in the same way as domestic consumers when it comes to their energy. A small business energy cap would take a huge step toward this goal, and protect thousands of retailers from the biggest annual cost increases in living memory. Taken together with additional business rates support, this package is absolutely necessary to support the UK’s 48,000 convenience stores as we head into an extremely difficult time period," Lowman continued.

More for you

Bira CEO Andrew Goodacre
Bira CEO Andrew Goodacre

'Devastating and out of touch' – indies react to Budget bombshell

Following the initial response condemning the Budget as 'the most damaging for independent retailers in recent memory' from the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), members have shared their stark reactions to the triple burden of doubled business rates, increased National Insurance, and higher minimum wage costs.

Multiple retailers have calculated specific impacts on their businesses, with costs ranging from £90,000 to £150,000 per year.

"This budget was horrendous for us as a company. Estimated costs to be around £110,000 - £120,000 per year," said Andrew Massey of Masseys DIY in Swadlincote, Derbyshire.

Keep ReadingShow less
Brocks at Rockwell Green store

Brocks at Rockwell Green store

Christie & Co

'Popular' Somerset store on the market as long-term owners retire


Brocks at Rockwell Green, a Premier-branded convenience store near Wellington, Somerset is on the market as owners Simon and Rachel Brock are now looking to retire - after running the store for nearly 25 years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds announced as new co-owners of Wrexham Lager

Wrexham Lager Beer Co Ltd, the oldest lager brewery still existing in Britain that has been brewing in Wales since 1882, has announced Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds as new co-owners of the company alongside the Roberts family.

The acquisition was made by Red Dragon Ventures, a joint venture formed by The R.R. McReynolds Company, majority owner of Wrexham AFC, and the Allyn family of Skaneateles, New York. Red Dragon Ventures was created to drive growth in the Wrexham community and Wrexham AFC.

Keep ReadingShow less
Solar and wind power
iStock

Leading beverage brands join forces to accelerate renewable energy adoption

Ten global beverage companies have joined forces under a new industry-wide consortium, called REfresh Alliance, which is designed to help accelerate renewable energy adoption across the industry’s supply chain.

The new initiative invites additional companies from across the beverage industry to pool and scale their resources to remove barriers to renewable energy adoption in the supply chain, provide education on best market practices and support the industry’s transition to Net Zero.

Keep ReadingShow less
disposable vapes

Single-use disposable vapes are displayed for sale on October 27, 2024 in London, England

Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images

Vape industry concerned over chancellor’s vaping duty proposal

Vape industry bodies have raised concerns over chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget announcement introducing a flat-rate excise duty on vaping products, saying it could hurt public health and increase financial pressures on consumers.

The new excise tax, set to begin on October 1, 2026, will add £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid, with additional VAT. This rate replaces the previous government’s proposed tiered tax structure, which many in the industry had criticised.

Keep ReadingShow less