BRC warns of more retail administrations
The British Retail Consortium has warned of more retail administrations in 2012 and has renewed its call for the government to support the sector by reducing new taxes and regulatory burdens.
Responding to statistics released by Deloitte which showed that retail administrations increased from 165 in 2010 to 183 in 2011, the BRC said it agreed with the warning that further administrations are likely in the coming months, particularly with business rates due to rise by 5.6% in April.
Administrations for the fourth quarter of 2011 were up more than 25% compared with the same period a year earlier.
BRC director general, Stephen Robertson, said: “2011 was a tough year with virtually no real terms growth for retailers. In such a competitive sector there will always be businesses that do well while others struggle but seeing such a high number of failures in the final quarter of the year is particularly alarming.
“The UK’s governments need to support the sector’s efforts to survive, thrive and maintain jobs by holding back the costs for which they are responsible, including business rates, retail levies and the burden of regulation.”
He added: ” As the private sector’s biggest employer and a major source of jobs for the under 25s, retail needs politicians to recognise the folly of making life harder than it already is.”
The BRC’s Retail Sales Monitor for December, measuring the sector’s performance during the sector’s most crucial month of the year, is released tomorrow.
