Tough times may be ahead for the local smaller busineses as Alan Smith, Barlow Andrews Partner and also Managing Director of Beech Business Services Limited explains.

“October saw the minumum wage exceed £5 for the first time and also record numbers of insolvencies. The minimum wage for adults from 1 October is now £5.05 and for younger workers is £4.25. Estimates are that over a million workers are affected by this and with further rises to £5.35 from October next year there will be real concerns for many smaller businesses.

“On top of this, according to recently released DTI statistics, all types of insolvencies, whether individual or corporate, were significanlyly up in the quarter to September 2005 when compared to last year.

“We are always available to assist clients who find themselves in financial difficulty, the most important thing is that they talk to us at an early stage to keep as many options open as possible.”

For further information please contact Alan Smith

02/12/2005