NEWS FEATURE
10 ASIAN TRADER 18 APRIL 2025
ammered by the double whammy
of a rise in National Insurance
Contributions (NICs) and an
increase in the National Living Wage
(NLW), plus reductions in business rate
relief, convenience store owners are being
forced to take some harsh and radical
decisions to stay afloat, finds Asian Trader.
From April, Employers’ NICs increased
from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, while
the threshold – the point at which
employers begin to pay NI on an individu-
al’s salary – has been reduced from £9,100
to £5,000.
To put this in perspective, in a typical
c-store (nine colleagues, 196 total paid
hours per week), the change in NIC will
result in an increase from
£8,170 per year to around
£12,606 per year in the
business’s annual payroll bill.
Thanks to reduction in
Retail, Hospitality and
Leisure (RHL) relief from 75
per cent to 40 per cent,
business rates are also set to
rise. A store with a rateable
value of £25,000 will now
face a payable rate of £7, 485,
which is more than double
what it was in 2024.
Additionally, NLW rose from £11.44 to
£12.21 per hour. For 18–20-year-olds, it
jumped by a record £1.40 to £10—mark-
ing the first step towards a single adult
rate.
According to convenience sector body
ACS, the cost increases would amount to
over £666 million for the convenience
sector in the coming year. And that’s
without factoring in the tsunami of
As wages and tax hikes pile on the pressure, c-store
retailers across the country spoke with Pooja
Shrivastava about frozen investments, squeezed
margins, and a system that is leaving them behind
spare at the end of the month.
“We usually pay our staff, who have
been with us longer (but with no extra
responsibility), 31p an hour more than
minimum wage, but not this year.
“We have made anticipatory changes
since the autumn, and have used manage-
ment to cover all holidays to save where
we can.
“It feels relentless, like dodging a
meteor shower of increases coming from
every direction, with the biggest cost to
the business now being staffing.”
Meanwhile, in Peterborough, retailer
Neil Godhania, owner of Neil’s Premier in
Tyesdale, is throwing everything at the
situation from scrutinising stock,
training staff, and trying to keep morale
and margins above water.
He told Asian Trader, “We are closely
monitoring stock levels to reduce waste,
optimising our product range to focus on
higher margin items, and negotiating
better supplier deals.
“Additionally, we are
actively promoting
multi-buy offers to drive
sales volume, helping
offset the increased costs.
“While reducing staff
hours is always a last resort,
we are forced to review our
shifts to ensure maximum
efficiency during peak
trading hours.
“Also to support our
Price of Survival
incoming legislation and regulatory
burdens.
When Asian Trader spoke with leading
convenience retailers, it became clear
that the impact of rising costs is already
being felt on the shop floor.
While Chancellor Rachel Reeves hopes
to boost consumer confidence, for
retailers these moves are hitting like a
double-edged sword.
In a sector that runs on razor-thin
margins, these added costs are not just
inconvenient; they are proving to be
existential. Jobs are being lost. Owners
are overworked. Investments are stalled.
And the mood is despondent.
Bracing for impact
In Wellingborough, Budgens
Berrymoor owner-retailer
Biren Patel has decided to
pause investment this year.
“It’s very difficult to
maintain the balance be-
tween not spending too much
on wages and keeping the
staff happy.
“We haven’t reduced
contract hours but in future,
we will have to cut down on
overtime and new recruitment,” Biren
confided to Asian Trader.
“We are not considering investing in
the business due to the current volatile
market. We don’t know what the future
holds – whether it will get better or worse.
So we decided not to risk it.”
Further south in Truro, the story is no
different.
Retailer Judith Smitham, who runs
Trelander Stores and The
old Dairy Pydar store, has
always been focused on
good customer service.
Today, she stands at a
crossroads.
Smitham told Asian
Trader, “Staff salaries have
always placed me in a
dilemma because £12.21
[per hour] is probably not
enough for someone to pay
all the bills and have a bit
Biren Patel
Neil Godhania
Judith Smitham
We are not
considering
investing in the
business due to
the current
volatile market
We usually pay
our staff more
than minimum
wage, but not this
year