The boss of Lidl has said retailers are “reeling” from the chancellor’s budget tax increases, which he warned would add to inflationary pressures at the grocery company.
Ryan McDonnell, chief executive at Lidl GB, said the discount supermarket chain was expecting to face “tens of millions of pounds” in extra costs as a result of a raft of changes introduced by Rachel Reeves last month.
He said UK businesses would be hit by new policy changes, including an increase to employers’ national insurance contributions and the national minimum wage as well as the introduction of packaging levies.
“There’s a cumulative impact from all those initiatives. [They] will put business costs under pressure,” McDonnell said.
Lidl was among major retailers, including Tesco, Asda and Marks &