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A historic ironmongers has blamed Rachel Reeves‘ Labour tax hikes on businesses when it was forced to shut down after 104 years.
Castles Home Hardware in Christchurch, Dorset, was dubbed the Four Candles shop by its customers.
Its old fashioned layout and approach to customer service has often seen the ironmongers affectionately compared to the famous Two Ronnies sketch.
But the current state of its finances are no laughing matter and the owners have announced the much-loved and long-established business is closing after 104 years.
They have been met with a perfect storm of rises in national insurance and minimum wage from chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget last year, an increase in rent by their ‘greedy’ landlord and seemingly constant roadworks outside their shop.
They say the government’s changes in business rates relief next April is the final straw.
Siblings Brian and Gary Adams are holding a closing down sale and once the bulk of the stock is gone so will the business.
Announcing the closure of Castles Home Hardware Brian said it has become ‘increasingly difficult’ for small businesses to ‘thrive in the current climate’.
A historic ironmongers has blamed Rachel Reeves ‘ Labour tax hikes on businesses when it was forced to shut down after 104 years (Pictured: Steve Davey who has worked at the shop since 1979)
Siblings Brian and Gary Adams are holding a closing down sale and once the bulk of the stock is gone so will the business
The owners have announced the much-loved and long-established business is closing after 104 years
He added: ‘There are four factors that have led to this.
‘The local council has lost the plot. I have lost count of the number of times the road outside has been closed for roadworks. When they do it is absolute chaos and customers can’t park. There’s roadworks outside now.
‘There is a car park close by with 150 spaces that the council has sold for housing. People just can’t park at this end of the high street.
‘The government is getting rid of business rate relief, so from next April where we paid £16,000 a year we would be paying up to £50,000.
‘The increase in National Insurance and minimum wage hasn’t helped.’
Brian claimed he had to let go of staff and hasn’t been able to replace them as it is ‘no longer cost effective’.
On top of that, he said their landlord is raising their rent from £38,000 to £45,000 next year – a whopping £7,000 increase.
‘We just can’t afford it anymore, it’s impossible,’ Brian said.
He explained how competing with big industry players, such as Wicks, B&Q and Screwfix, means they cannot put their prices up.
Owner Brian claimed he had to let go of staff and hasn’t been able to replace them as it is ‘no longer cost effective’
Brian said he has ‘lost count of the number of times the road outside has been closed for roadworks’
‘Our two suppliers have gone bust and we can’t find any other suppliers willing to sell anything less than pallet loads of stock and we just haven’t got the storage for it.
‘The majority of our customers are people of a certain age. They don’t like to buy online, they prefer to come in and see and feel and smell what they are buying.
‘The local and national governments haven’t got a clue. The national government has no idea about the general public. They haven’t got the foggiest about how life in the real world works. They are just out for themselves.’
Meanwhile, a second hardware store in Wareham, Dorset, has also gone out of business
The owners of Home and Garden have stuck up a sign in the window blaming the ‘incompetent leftie clowns in parliament’ for going under.
