UK salons and spas warn of closures as power prices surge

Excessive avenue hair and sweetness salons have warned they’re significantly vulnerable to going out of enterprise as power costs soar, given the price of working home equipment resembling hairdryers, tongs and tanning beds.

Slightly below half — solely 49 per cent — of just about 700 companies surveyed by commerce physique the Nationwide Hair and Magnificence Federation final month mentioned they have been assured within the survival of their enterprise. Greater than half have raised costs for purchasers and 77 per cent are paying extra for power than they have been six months in the past.

“The slam of that massive soar is simply pushing many individuals in direction of the brink,” mentioned chief government Richard Lambert. He added that companies have been now experiencing 300 to 400 per cent will increase of their payments, whereas a lot of salons had already closed their doorways. 

Many sectors have raised fears about surging power payments this winter however excessive avenue salons and spas are significantly fearful, given they need to fund the price of working quite a few electrical devices in addition to heating and lighting. The fragmented nature of the market, with nearly all of salons turning over lower than £250,000 a yr and using not more than 5 to 10 folks, in line with ONS information, leaves them uncovered.

Former prime minister Liz Truss introduced an power assist package deal for companies in September, however assistance is at present set to expire in April. Salons are fearful that with out extra assist, excessive payments will hammer the low margin sector as the price of dwelling disaster bites. 

“As a sector filled with small and micro companies which might be very fragmented, we could discover it troublesome to persuade the federal government that this can be a weak trade,” mentioned Lambert.

David Paling, the proprietor of Tan Tan Tan, a series of 10 tanning salons, warned that with out additional assist from the federal government, spiralling payments might sound the “demise knell” of one among his retailers. 

He mentioned payments for his Cardiff salon had gone up greater than fivefold since April after its fixed-term contract resulted in October. 

“If you take one among your largest overheads, and also you multiply it by six, you kill the salon, that’s accomplished . . . the enterprise stops at that time,” he mentioned. “With out authorities assist, it closes.”

One salon responding to the NHBF’s survey warned that its month-to-month power payments have been prone to improve from £113 to between £600 and £700. “If that’s the case, we’ll flip the lights off as we depart the constructing and provides the keys again to the owner,” the unnamed respondent mentioned.

Gilly Perkins, basic supervisor of commerce physique The Sunbed Affiliation, mentioned some smaller companies had already closed their doorways as a result of excessive prices of working tanning beds “all day day-after-day”.

“For the smaller companies, there’ll be some very severe conversations occurring about whether or not or not these companies can stay viable,” she mentioned, significantly after the hit from pandemic closures.

“There are folks that I believe have been hanging on in there, pondering we’ll simply see how this subsequent yr goes, and if it turns into an excessive amount of of a problem they’ll resolve the enterprise received’t be viable.”

Steph Stevenson, the proprietor of HNB Salon in Bournemouth, mentioned she was involved about power blackouts. The salon has switched to disposable towels on account of the prices related to washing and drying and has elevated costs for purchasers by 20 per cent.

“You may’t afford to not, it’s enterprise suicide to not elevate your costs,” she mentioned.