Boss of Beaverbrooks urges government to give businesses ‘a bit of a break’

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The boss of the family-owned jeweller Beaverbrooks has called on the government to give business “a bit of a break” by halting cost increases amid flat sales and falling profits.

The retailer, founded in 1919, revealed a 9% fall in underlying operating profit to £7.8m last year after an increase in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and the legal minimum wage introduced by the former chancellor Rachel Reeves.