The owner of Plant + Pot in Cardiff’s Royal Arcade talks about how new financial pressures will affect independent businesses in a new podcast
Small local businesses with higher wages to pay may struggle more as the Autumn budget takes effect, says the owner of an independent plant shop in Cardiff’s Arcades.
In a new podcast called Own It, Harry Thorpe, who owns the business Plant + Pot in the Royal Arcade, said that small businesses he’s spoken to with “bigger payrolls or wage outlays,” are “definitely more concerned”.
“I know that some of the businesses that are still considered small, local and kind of family-run but have a higher wage budget are feeling the pinch somewhat,” he said.
Thorpe has owned Plant + Pot since January of this year. He “stumbled into” running his business through an advertisement on Facebook marketplace.
“I was searching for second-hand furniture on Facebook marketplace, just looking for something for the house, came across the plant shop and was kind of intrigued,” he said.
“I thought it must be some kind of scam but messaged the seller and she said she was indeed selling the shop,” he added. He decided to buy the shop over Facebook marketplace soon after.
I know that some of the businesses that are still considered small, local and kind of family-run but have a higher wage budget are feeling the pinch somewhat
Nine months after Thorpe began running the business, on 30 October, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the amount employers pay in National Insurance will increase from 13.8% to 15% in April 2025. Reeves also announced a drop in the secondary threshold, with taxes being paid from £5,000 instead of £9,100. This will create a higher wage bill for employers from April 2025.
Thorpe said his business won’t be impacted as much as other businesses by this announcement because of the age profiles of his staff and where his employees fall within lower wage brackets.
He adds: “The only people that will potentially suffer within the short to medium term are those on a slightly higher wage band because of National Insurance and things like that.”
To support smaller businesses with the changes in tax, Reeves said there would be an increase in the employment allowance and employers could also claim up to £10,500 back from their National Insurance bill. This is an increase from the previous amount of £5,000.
Speaking on this, Thorpe said a lot of the UK government’s policies lean towards supporting small and medium businesses, but won’t take shape for another year or two.
“For us, it’s about getting to that point in a year or two where we’ll be able to actually see some return on those policies,” he said.