Bondholders discuss challenges at Bank of England roundtable

Bondholders involved in the retail and hospitality sectors have been discussing current business conditions at a special Bank of England roundtable facilitated by Marketing Derby.

Last week, at the University of Derby’s Cavendish Building, a group of Bondholders joined Catherine Mann, an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee, for a discussion and feedback session.

The roundtable was designed to help the Bank of England gain a better understanding of the operating environment and hear first-hand the experiences and challenges facing local businesses.

The session was attended by representatives from Bouquet Wines, BEAR, Darley Abbey Wines, Radisson Blu, Catering 24, HDK Events, Compamigos, Derbion, Visit Derby and PKF Smith Cooper.

The session began with Catherine setting out the work of the MPC in determining the Bank of England’s monetary policy, how decisions were taken regarding interest rate rises and how they use comprehensive data and research as part of the process.

Bondholders around the table involved in retail and hospitality then provided feedback on the challenges faced by the sectors.

These included ongoing inflationary pressures, rising labour and employment costs, such as the Higher National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage requirements, business rates, as well as increased energy, packaging and food product costs.

They discussed changing consumer behaviour from price-conscious customers.

And that with many new fiscal pressures coming at once, their margins have been squeezed – and, as a result, despite demand, retail and hospitality businesses were struggling to convert this into profit.

This was making it hard to on-board young people seeking entry-level roles or part-time positions, with limited resources to train them, and there was an acknowledgement of the impact of this on the future workforce and skills.

They also said it was hard to on-board young people, saying they cannot spare the resources to train them if they do not stay for long, which could leave a skills gap in the future.

Overall, they painted a picture of “surviving rather than innovating”, which participants felt was not in-keeping with the creative nature of the hospitality industry.

Nichol Malia-Barlow, owner of Darley Abbey Wines and The Spirit Run, said: “It was really valuable to join fellow Bondholders to have an open and honest conversation about the challenges we are all facing, and for our voices to be heard in a forum with the Bank of England.

 “What shone through, was the benefit of businesses being able to share their experiences, realise that many were facing similar pressures and offer support to each other.  It also created new connections and hopefully relationships that will continue beyond the roundtable.”

Paul Mount, the Bank of England’s agent for the East Midlands, said: “Hearing from SMEs about their trading conditions is vital for the Bank of England’s interest rate committee’s understanding of current economic conditions and future prospects.

“It is a key input into their interest rate decisions. The Bank relies on business leaders giving up their time to share insights with us, and we are very grateful to the roundtable participants for taking time out to speak to us.”