Business owners concerned by rising costs

Rob Stander, owner of the Early Bird restaurant and cafe, said, despite cutting staff, costs were still high

Three business owners have joined together to address the concerns of the hospitality sector.

Rob Stander, Oz Harborth and Jack Harman own businesses in Plymouth and believe the government's National Insurance and VAT rises could lead to thousands of jobs losses in the hospitality industry.

They said they intended to lobby the government to cut VAT in a bid to help small businesses survive.

A spokesperson for HM Treasury said in a statement that the government recognised the "vital importance of cafés and restaurants to local communities" and was cutting the cost of licensing among other measures to support businesses.

'Not enough money'

Mr Stander, who runs the Early Bird bakery and cafe, said the trio aimed to get those in hospitality together to lobby the government to lower the VAT and they have set up a petition.

He said due to rising costs he had to cut five jobs.

"[The] National minimum wage has gone up and we've cut down jobs and we're still paying more National Insurance and PAYE [pay as you earn income tax]," he said.

"People think you are very successful, but the truth is behind the scenes there's not enough money to reinvest."

He added there were other concerns too: "Our popular bakes like the brownies - the price of the chocolate has gone up by more than 200% since last year April."

The owners have created a website and Mr Stander said: "We're trying to build a list of names that we can take and knock on 10 Downing Street."

Oz Harborth runs Zephyr Burger and Nora's restaurants.

He said: "I think we're sort of starting to see the impending tidal wave of tax rises that could potentially floor our industry and we're starting to get a little bit concerned that... we're going to see obviously a wave of closures."

He said the increase in National Insurance contributions meant his business had to pay £1,500 more per employee per year.

"I would like to see a reduction of VAT on hospitality to 10% - this essentially would fall in line with a lot of other countries in Europe.

'Local communities'

Mr Harborth said: "We're trailing on the back of UK hospitality's message, the initiative that they're calling "Taxed Out", which essentially comprises of three requests to the government."

These requests include lowering business rates, fixing National Insurance contributions and cutting VAT.

A spokesperson for HM Treasury said in a statement: "Our Plan for Change recognises the vital importance of cafes and restaurants to local communities.

"That's why we're cutting the cost of licensing, helping more cafes and restaurants offer pavement drinks and al fresco dining, and extending business rates relief for these businesses – on top of cutting alcohol duty on draught pints and capping corporation tax."