Hospitality businesses expect 'dim' Budget outlook

Jolyon Iles, owner of The Beech Tree, said rising prices were affecting profits

Businesses in Oswestry said they were not feeling optimistic ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivering her Budget on Wednesday.

Reeves is expected to increase taxes and has said she would make the "necessary choices" for the economy, to address NHS waiting lists, the national debt and the cost of living.

The statement will be made in the House of Commons at about 12:30 GMT.

Jolyon Iles, owner of the Beech Tree, said he was expecting "a dim outlook". "We are hopeful there will be some sort of relief for hospitality businesses, a reduction in VAT or some other means of alleviating all the other costs we are facing, but we are not optimistic," he added.

Duncan Borrowman, owner of the Bailey Head pub, said he also wanted a reduction in VAT and some help on business rates.

"I think we need real help, it is worse than it was after Covid," he said. "People's habits have changed, people's lifestyles have changed.

"Hospitality is the one of the biggest employment sectors in the country and ignoring that could have a huge impact on employment figures."

Duncan Borrowman, owner of the Bailey Head pub in Oswestry, said the hospitality industry needed support

The government has repeatedly said boosting the economy was a key priority.

A growing economy usually means people spend more, extra jobs are created, more tax is paid and workers get better pay rises.

Amelia Jones from The Little Welsh Bakery said she was hoping Reeves's Budget strengthened rights for employers.

She said, while the tourist trade in the town was still strong, people were being careful with their spending. She also cited a huge rise in costs "across the board" for businesses and consumers.

Amelia Jones from The Little Welsh Bakery said people were being careful in what they spent

Prices are still rising faster than expected, with inflation at 3.8% in the year to September - well above the Bank of England's 2% target.

Mr Iles said: "Everything is going up, it is not sustainable. Everything is going up, profits are not."

He added that, without a "drastic" government intervention, "the whole hospitality sector will suffer".