George Osbornes family firm reports jump in costs in wake of Brexit – The Guardian

The former chancellor George Osbornes family wallpaper business has said that Brexit added 400,000 to its costs, as the companys sales slid more than 16% during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Osborne & Little, which is controlled by Osbornes father, Sir Peter Osborne, said the UKs exit from the EU had an immediate adverse effect on profits from January 2021, with unforeseen costs such as increased shipping payments and taxes on EU goods imported to the UK before being exported back to Europe.

The company also said it had experienced supply delays that had affected trading despite strong demand from shoppers who wanted to revamp interiors as they spent more time at home during the coronavirus lockdowns.

Accounts filed at Companies House said the London-based company, where George Osborne sits as a board director, set up a new distributor in Germany in March this year to help improve the flow of goods and reduce costs.

The complaints about higher costs come despite Osborne & Little calculating in 2016, at the time of the UKs vote on Brexit, that there would be limited impact in the short-term from leaving the EU, but that if sterling remained weak, it would bring a material benefit to the business.

Sales fell to 24.3m in the year to 31 March, with the UK and Europe down 18% and its biggest market, the US, down almost 15%.

Despite the Brexit problems, Osborne & Little moved to a pre-tax profit of 558,000 from a pre-tax loss of 542,000 a year before as it cut costs elsewhere, including reducing staff numbers.

Sign up to the daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk

The numbers were also boosted by operating income from 510,000 in furlough payments and 128,000 in coronavirus business interruption loan scheme from the government during the year. The group borrowed 3.5m in total from the CBIL scheme and also received a 615,000 paycheck loan from the US government.

The accounts said Covid had a huge impact on the UK but that sales rose 30% in the seven months to 31 October, compared with the same period in the previous year, with a similar increase in profits. The company said collections designed by the decorator Nina Campbell had performed exceptionally well.

The continuing effect that Brexit is having on the UK economy was highlighted last week in the food and drink sector, with exports slumping 16% over the first nine months of 2021, a fall that was largely attributed to a 24% decline in sales to EU countries.

Read the original here:

George Osbornes family firm reports jump in costs in wake of Brexit - The Guardian