MARCH COLD SPELL COSTS SMALL FIRMS £174M

The coldest March since 1962 cost Britain’s small firms £174 million through loss of demand, staff absence and closures, while retailers suffered as shoppers stayed away from the high street as reported in this mornings EN Business news online.

Figures from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) show that more than half (55 per cent) of its members were affected by the cold snap, losing an average of £1,580 each.

Almost one in three reported a slump in demand, while 27 per had had staff absent for at least one day and 26 per cent were forced to close.

The FSB’s figures were published as the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed that store owners saw footfall tumble by 5.2 per cent year-on-year in March. The sharpest annual decline was on the high street at seven per cent, while out-of-town locations saw footfall decline by 4.2 per cent and shopping centres registered a 2.4 per cent drop.

Helen Dickinson, director-general of the BRC, said:

 “The prolonged cold was the main culprit for deterring shoppers, especially compared against the far milder March of 2012. Although footfall did pick up around the Easter weekend, it couldn’t fully compensate for a weak showing across the month as a whole…. read more here