Most British firms see overall business costs rising by 3.5 percent

94 percent of UK firms have seen an overall increase of around 3.5 percent in their business costs over 2013, figures published within the Forum of Private Business’ latest report indicate.

Results obtained from the Forum’s Cost of Doing Business survey point out that 87 percent of businesses reported an increase in energy costs, 83 percent in transport costs, 78 percent a rise in marketing costs, and 69 percent a rise in the cost of raw materials/stock.

Additionally, 81 percent of firms indicated that rising business costs have been detrimental to their business, while 73 percent have had cash flow issues as a result. Plus, 51 percent of firms said that rising costs have put off investments, while 51 percent also reported that it has been detrimental to employment levels and 63 percent feel that it has inhibited their plans for growth.

While annual inflation has continued to fall from 3 percent to 2.7 percent, the research also found that prices have continued to rise faster for micro, small and medium-sized employers at 6 percent, although this is less than the 6.7 percent figure reported by the Forum last year.

Alexander Jackman, the Forum’s Head of Policy, said: “The major reasons for increases in prices are predominantly down to transport and energy prices rising, coupled with the continued weakness of sterling for importers. The economic outlook may be better but costs still remain an issue for our members and a key focus of our lobbying and support services.”

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as if there is going to be any respite from energy hikes any time soon, despite the ongoing political pressure to take action to introduce more competition in the market, with many of the major players recently announcing significant increases and others expected to follow suit.”

Given the current and forecast evolution of business-related expenses, implementing cost-saving measures is becoming a vital strategy for any company, regardless of its size, and this is specifically where Tensor Plc could put its extensive market experience to very good use.

Our diverse range of products and solutions will enable your company to optimize its costs across the board, whether we’re talking about workforce-related expenses (our advanced Time & Attendance and Human Resources management systems) or energy bills (our Energy Management solutions enable companies to save anywhere between 20 and 30%+ on their energy-related costs).

If you’d like to find out more about the numerous money-saving and cost-cutting solutions Tensor can supply you with, just contact us or Book a Demo, our representatives will be more than happy to answer any questions or queries you might have.