"When winter comes, I won’t last": Fears in south Manchester neighbourhood where rising bills threaten business

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

"The way things are going, I probably won’t be here this time next year or at Christmas", Peter Doherty sighs. His café, Coffee House in Withington, offers one of the cheapest breakfasts in Manchester.

But due to the soaring bills he faces, Peter has had to put prices up at the Copson Street greasy spoon by around 50p. It may seem like a small amount, but it's creeping increases like this that Peter fears will put him out of business.

Gas and electricity price caps went up in April. While many people are yet to see the full effect of these increases during the summer months, the news that price caps could rise to £3,628 in October has left many people, including Peter, worried.

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“I put [the prices up] by like 50p, but I hadn’t put my prices up before that for eight years", he said. "Now you can’t even make money. It’s costing me. The way things are going, I probably won’t be here this time next year or at Christmas.

“The way things are at the moment, you can’t make a profit, it’s all coming out of your own money and there’s no point doing that."

Peter said price rises have left him struggling to pay the rent. "If Debenhams and people like that can’t do it, how has anyone else got a chance?"

Competition from nearby chains is also putting a strain on business, he said.

“The swimming baths has opened a café inside it. Which is nice. (But) it used to be, if you had a café, that was a café, if you had a butcher’s it was a butchers. Now it’s like Sainsbury’s has got a café, everyone’s got a café.

“If you’re already a café and everyone’s got a café, the only way I can adapt is by selling DVDs or something - something that’s not anything to