More venues cut hours amid warning of NI businesses going to wall

Over a fifth of UK pubs, restaurants and cafes have reduced their opening hours in the past three months in a bid to cut energy costs.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that food and drink service firms were more likely than any other sector to cut trading to deal with huge increases in energy bills.

It revealed that 21% of firms in the sector have cut their trading hours as a result, even if they were still operating for the same number of days.

Meanwhile, 6% of businesses in the sector said that they have cut trading by two or more days a week over the past three months.

These companies were also the most likely to say energy prices were their main concern for November, although accommodation business were close behind.

Across industry, 22% of businesses said energy prices were their principal concern for November.

However, this reflected a marginal decline after the Government pledged to subsidise businesses’ energy bills in September.

And food and drink hospitality firms came under particularly sharp pressure from higher bills, with 58% of these companies saying energy prices are their main concern, jumping from 39% a month earlier.

As a result, around two in five, 41%, of companies in the sector said this expect to increase their prices in November. Meanwhile, 36% of accommodation firms they were set to hike prices too.

The new comes as the chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has said Northern Ireland is facing the prospect of many businesses closing their doors for good in the new year,

Tina McKenzie said people in business have been left “at the end of their tether” over the political stalemate at Stormont and the prospect of a deepening economic crisis has left many facing unpayable bills.

She said retailers she had spoken to are planning to get through Christmas before re-evaluating whether they stay open.

Last week it was revealed Northern Ireland faces a £650m black hole in its public finances.

The NI Fiscal Council said that in the absence of corrective action, extra money from Westminster or flexibility from the Treasury, the money will have to be clawed back from the NI block grant next year

“Our latest survey shows one in five small businesses have less than a month’s cash reserve available to them,” Ms McKenzie told BBC NI’s Sunday Politics.