Restaurant chain boss reveals his huge rise in energy…

Restaurant chain boss reveals his huge rise in energy bills as new price cap announced

A restaurant chain boss has revealed the skyrocketing energy bills hitting restaurants like his and many others, adding to fears that this could push many out of businesses this winter. David Fox, founder of the Tampopo chain which employs 140 staff across five sites in the city, took to Twitter to outline the stark rise in energy bills for his business.

Shockingly, he says that two years ago his energy bills per week at one of his restaurants was £325. However, he is now facing energy costs of £3,557 per week from this September.

Ofgem announced a new price cap on Friday morning of £3,549 from October for the average household. But this will be a lot higher for businesses who use energy to serve their customers throughout the day.

Manchester's night time economy tsar, Sacha Lord, has already urged the government to offer more support to pubs, bars, and restaurants as many could face closure without it. He made comments that many could struggle to make it through the winter after a survey of landlords, published this week, found that seven-in-ten fear they will go bust over the next six months without Government intervention on fuel bills.

The alarming figures posted by Mr Fox make it clear that this could be entirely possible. In his thread titled 'electricity prices for small businesses', he said, referencing figures for Tampopo: "At one of my restaurants Two years ago my electricity bill was £16.9k pa/£325 per week. Last year it was £62k pa/£1.200 per week.

"Contract is up for review in Sep 22 what’s on offer for 2 yrs is £185k/£3,557 per week. That is £508 a day. This will call into question the affordability of running a restaurant and certainly on shifts where sales are below a certain level.

"At £508 a day for 110 cover restaurant I would have to have sales of £850 JUST TO PAY FOR THE ELECTRICITY. That is before any costs for my team, gas, cleaning and and all the other direct costs associated with being open.

"To cover other direct costs just from being open we would need to have sales of £2,180 for the day. (Btw of which £436 would go straight to the govt in VAT.”). On a cold Monday in October, or freezing Tuesday in Feb.

He has suggested many businesses don't open as much as they would usually do to save on bills. However, this may still not be enough.

"For those businesses that don’t go bust. My advice is don’t increase the risk of going bust by being open and losing more money (whilst still generating money for the government who are not helping us). Work out your break even and be smart. That still may not be enough," he said.

Mr Fox also urged the public to write to their local politicians to encourage the government to step in and offer hospitality more support. He said: "Also write to your MP. With real life examples like this. Hospitality is part of the fabric of our society, offers moments of happiness whilst also being a cash cow for govt and a huge employer.

"Tell them when you will go bust. They will listen. If they don’t vote them out!"

A Government spokesperson said: "No national government can control the global factors pushing up the price of energy and other business costs, but we will continue to support the hospitality sector in navigating the months ahead.

"That includes providing a 50 per cent business rates relief for businesses across the UK, freezing alcohol duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits and reducing employer national insurance. This is in addition to the billions in grants and loans offered throughout the pandemic."

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