A small business owner in High Wycombe says closure is on the table after the government announced a minimum wage increase in the autumn budget.

Darryl Earle, 57, runs model shop Collectables R Us on Church Street in High Wycombe and moved out of the Eden Shopping Centre this year due in part to high rental costs.

Darryl, who has faced issues since the relocation including obstructive roadworks and council miscommunication, paid close attention to yesterday’s budget announcement which saw Chancellor Rachel Reeves announce a rise in national minimum wage and employers’ national insurance (NI).

The minimum wage will rise by 6.7 per cent to £12.21 an hour and the rate of NI paid by employers will rise by 1.2 per cent from April next year.

The Wycombe-based business owner described the news as “damaging” for small enterprises.

He said: “The minimum wage increase will definitely affect me – I want to pay my staff above that threshold, so they’ll be expecting it to rise in line with these changes.

“At the moment, I’m effectively paying the government an extra salary each month and it’s just going up and up.”

Darryl said the business landscape in Wycombe was challenging enough for small businesses without government intervention – with high business rates and dwindling footfall disproportionately impacting local vendors.

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“We’ve been trading in the town for five years and it’s been pretty demoralising all the way through. We’re trying to create this community space and give our customers a place to come and share their passions, but the truth is that trade is down, and the only options are to keep plodding on or just throw in the towel.

“Church Street isn’t the best place to do business anyway and we have been affected by Primark moving out of the Chilterns – but some of our recent Saturday trading has been lower than during the week.

“So, when you hear about these increased charges from the government, it just worsens the outlook. I’m really starting to wonder what the point is in carrying on.

“Our customers are great, but they don’t see what happens behind the scenes. Recently, and especially today, it feels more dire than ever. It feels like it could kill us and many other small businesses off.”

Ms Reeves described Wednesday’s budget, which is the first Labour financial statement since 2010, as “a moment of fundamental choice for Britain”.

Her plans included an extra £400 billion a year in taxes as well as an increase in borrowing of around £32.3 billion and a spending rise of £70 billion.

The chancellor said the measures were necessary to address the “black hole” in the public finances left by the Conservative government.