MORE than 60 per cent of Yorkshire’s small and medium sized firms (SME) have warned of the negative impact of rising operating costs on their income.
Findings by the Close Brothers Business Barometer, a quarterly survey of SME owners and senior management, show that 58 per cent of regional SMEs were experiencing higher costs, with 62 per cent saying these were damaging business prospects.
Higher raw material prices and the cost of holding stock was the main concern for 46 per cent of regional firms, with 29 per cent citing rising energy bills as causing the most pressure.
Mike Randall, Close Brothers chief executive, said: “We work with businesses across a range of sectors and we can see that they are all concerned about operating costs.This is a situation that is leading to increased pressure on already tight margins and it is entirely possible that operational costs will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.”
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