This is turning into a concerning end to the year is it not?
Long-established Dundee-based Ravensby Glass Co are apparently set to wind up the company according to posts seen on LinkedIn this morning.
This is what has been posted on the social media site earlier today:
The company was founded in 1985 which would mark nearly four decades in business.
A mixture of tough trading conditions and measures announced in the Budget have been cited as the reasons for closing the business. What is perhaps a silver lining in this news is that the business appears to intend to honour all suppliers and bills as part of their closure. This is not something you see often, but makes the winding up of the company smoother and will leave interest parties happier than perhaps what could have been.
An exodus?
What is beginning to concern me is that it feels like we are seeing an acceleration of exits from the sector, even before the notoriously difficult Q1 period which is when we normally see closures from businesses unable to pay their bills.
In my own private discussions with other industry connections, I know a few on the installation side of our supply chain are also looking to exit their businesses. Not sell to others, just to simply close. The same reasons keep coming up: bad trading conditions and the Budget. Running a business in our sector has been hard enough over the past couple of years, now the recent Budget is set to pile further pressure on companies with higher costs and taxes. This appears to be a final straw for some, with decisions being made to exit businesses before April of next year.
My fear is that we are going to see a lot more of this over the next five months. The fact of the matter is that a lot of our companies are run by people who are at or close to retirement age. Sadly, as we are all well aware, there is not another generation coming forth to take over from the people leaving the sector, which leaves business owners little choice but to either sell or close. With the economic outlook now set to become even harder, more are going to be deciding to close rather than carry on.
What is concerning is that the effects of the Budget, even though many of the measures are yet to kick in, are having an effect on sectors of all kinds and yet the new Government appears happy to press on regardless. If they do not take the blinkers off and see what is already happening on the ground, they are going to have serious problems with growth in 2025 and beyond.
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