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In a week’s time, we’ll be bracing for Rachel Reeves’s spring statement, which may turn in to more of a mini-budget given speculation of possible spending cuts or tax rises to keep within the chancellor’s fiscal rules.

But businesses are still getting to grips with the chances made in last autumn’s budget, such as the increase in employer national insurance contributions and the higher minimum wage, which both kick in next month.

The Company has traded well in the first half and delivered strong profit growth. Like other operators in the sector, we face many cost headwinds that will impact us in the second half, following the recent Budget, notably the increase in national living wage and national insurance from April. We estimate that the annualised impact of these two items is £2.6m, with the incremental costs commencing in April and impacting the final quarter of the 2025 financial year.

We plan to mitigate the majority of these costs over the next 18 months through price increases and cost efficiencies.