A popular Aberdeen sandwich shop is facing a 400% monthly price hike in energy bill costs with the co-owner branding the increase “insane”.
Jackie Wilson and her business partner Sheila Petrie have owned Upperkrust on Upperkirkgate for 15 years but rising electric prices are proving a “real dilemma” for the pair.
It comes as businesses across the country face soaring energy costs.
During a meeting last week business owners in Aberdeen called for the introduction of an energy price cap for smaller businesses, similar to the one which is meant to protect households from rocketing fuel bills.
And the owner of a Torry takeaway, which has been shut for the forseeable future, said he would need to sell more than 1,500 extra meals to break even amid the cost-of-living crisis.
For Upperkrust, bills look set to rocket from £400 a month to £2,000.
Not only are they seeing energy increases but food ingredient costs are also spiralling.
Ms Wilson said: “I don’ know what we are going to do.
“I think we are going to have to start wearing head torches and have candles with a bbq out the back.
“I don’t know how it’s going to go. I really don’t.
“The way it’s going we’ll be working to pay our bills and won’t be able to pay the staff if that’s the case.”
‘It’s a real dilemma’
The pair are currently trying to find a new deal after being on a fixed contract with their supplier.
Ms Wilson said: “It’s coming up for renewal in about a month and I’ve been phoning companies direct and they are not able to give me any quotes so I’ve no idea what it’s going to be.
“My current supplier has given me a quote for a fixed three-year term for five times what I’m paying now.
“Now we are about £350 to £400 a month and it’s going to go up to over £2,000.”
Rising food costs is also a big concern with Ms Wilson already being forced to increase prices for customers.
She said: “Every time I phone an order the prices are increasing and sometimes it’s double.
“We’ve put our prices up as much as we can to try and cover it but costs keep going up.
“I’d need to charge £30 a sandwich to cover costs.”
Jackie Wilson, Upperkrust co-owner
“One product we use a lot of everyday, chicken, has gone up by £3 a pack.
Increasing bills
“I’ve got staff to pay and rent and now we are going to have an electric bill which is going to be higher than our rent. It’s just insane.
“I’d need to charge £30 a sandwich to cover costs.
“The government is doing nothing yet the energy companies are making so much money.
“I don’t understand why they are doing it.
“It’s a real dilemma.”
And Upperkrust is not the only business facing difficult decisions, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Scotland has estimated one in six small firms in Scotland will be forced to scale back, close or sell due to rising costs.
The FSB’s development manager David Groundwater said: “Unfortunately, we’ve seen a growing number of north-east businesses facing astronomical rises in their fuel bills with tough decisions now being taken in a bid to cut costs and even closure.
“In a single year of the pandemic we lost nearly 20,000 Scottish businesses and if we are to stop that decline and protect existing businesses, we need urgent action. Like much of the support provided over Covid, speed is of the essence.”
Rocketing costs a concern for all
Seven members of staff, a mixture of full-time and part-time, are currently employed by Upperkrust.
They, too, will face rising fuel costs as Ofgem recently announced the energy price cap for households will rise. The cap will come into effect from October 1 and will see the average household’s yearly bill increase to £3,549.
One of those is 33-year-old Clare Davidson who has worked part-time for just over a year.
She lives in a two-bedroom flat with her partner and daughter and has been told her gas and electric bill will be increasing from £102 to nearly £250 a month.
She said: “I just don’t know what we are going to do as we can’t afford that.
“It’s a real worry. Prices keep going up and it leaves us in trouble.”
Conversation