Autumn nightmare for British businesses

The “autumn storm” warns the associations of British companies, as after the support they received during the pandemic, they will be faced with unbearable taxes, high costs, staff shortages and problems in their supply chain.

At the same time, members of British associations are talking about a sharp drop in confidence after the end of the summer. However, data for the third quarter, which will be published next week by the British Chamber of Commerce, are expected to show that increased costs for wages and the supply of raw materials, combined with shortages of trained staff, are of great concern to the business. people.

At the same time, the Institute of Directors will publish data collected this month that show a sharp drop in corporate confidence following the government’s announcements to increase insurance premiums. This move is expected, according to a report by the Financial Times, to hit businesses next year.

Business confidence has fallen to last winter’s levels, following a rise in the index this summer.

Kitty User, chief economist at IoD, noted that “the business environment has deteriorated dramatically in recent weeks.” “We have seen signs of improving confidence over the summer,” BCC chief Sivan Haviland told the Financial Times. “I’ve been in a lot of phone conversations with CEOs over the last week, where we were trying to say something nice, but we couldn’t.”

In a relevant letter, IoD has requested a meeting with the Minister of Finance, due to the concern that exists for a tax increase of 11 billion pounds. The letter, which came to the attention of the Financial Times, warns the minister that the tax increase will have a negative impact on jobs, but also on growth.

At the same time, through this letter, the IoD association expresses concern about this move and emphasizes that it is not a good government practice. The head of foreign affairs of the small business federation spoke of an “autumn storm” referring to the “headache” that will be caused to businesses by increased taxes, staff shortages, cost overruns and disruptions in the supply chain. Commodity price hikes are worrying business representatives, with Ben Fletcher, head of the Make UK association representing manufacturing companies, pointing out that conditions are very difficult for many companies due to rising costs. lack of guides, but also supplies.

Meanwhile, financial companies in the City of London are facing ever-increasing costs in their quest to hire talented employees, estimating that increased costs reduce their competitiveness. This was stated in a report by TheCityUK, an organization representing companies in the financial sector.

In fact, according to a report in the Financial Times, member companies are asking the government to launch a short-term business visa that will allow foreign workers to come to Britain. It is noted that 1/5 of the staff of these companies comes from abroad, a percentage that amounts to 42% of all employees in the emerging technology sector of financial services (fintech), according to the relevant report published by the Financial Times.

“To stay competitive we need to have the best talent in the world. “Without it, we will not be able to innovate in emerging industries that are key to economies, such as fintech or the green economy, nor will we be able to build international business networks,” said TheCityUK CEO Miles Celik.

He stressed that big cities in Europe, America and Asia are competing to find top talent. “Britain needs to work hard to streamline immigration processes, reduce the burden of excessive bureaucracy, be more flexible and adapt to the needs of the business sector.”

It is recalled that Brexit banned free movement between Britain and Europe earlier this year, with TheCityUK stressing that 9 months after Brexit, financial and service companies had seen a significant increase in their costs to ensure arrival of talented workers in order to be internationally competitive.