Cheesemonger Sells Business To Overcome Brexit Hurdles After Losing 600 000 In Sales Brexit

Simon Spurrell, who hit the headlines when he highlighted prohibitive export costs after the UK left the single market, will remain chief executive of Macclesfield-based Cheshire Cheese Company and retain a stake in the business. Its new owner, fellow North West England producer Joseph Heler Cheese, has maintained a presence in the EU as a result of its larger operations and distribution hub in the Netherlands, which Spurrell hopes will make it viable to supply European customers again. Spurrell said he was excited to be back on the continent after a two-year absence, but still can’t believe how the government destroyed small businesses like his with their decision to go ahead with a hard Brexit. “The sad thing is that small businesses like ours can’t access the EU,” he said. “Selling the company is an excellent solution… it secures the future of the company with a historic cheesemaker. “But I still feel very disappointed and bitterly disappointed that I have had so many conversations with the Department for International Trade and government ministers and nothing is happening. “They are incompetent because of their Brexit policy. They are so anti-European that they won’t even discuss working out a better deal. Access to the single market must be the first step.” Spurrell claims that after campaigning in the press last year to highlight his case, he was told by several people that Boris Johnson had referred to him as “that bloody cheese”. Government departments advised him to look for new business in “emerging markets”, advice he said was dire given the huge market on Britain’s doorstep. Spurrell founded the business in 2010 selling truckloads of wax-wrapped cheese and has won numerous awards for 15 artisanal varieties including cheddar, cheshire and royal blue. It grew by around 30% a year and by 2019 had decided to invest £1m in a warehouse in Macclesfield to fulfill orders in Europe for long-standing favourites, such as Irish whiskey and ginger stem cheddar, a gold winner at the International Cheese Awards. But when Brexit export rules came into force, he was hit with vet certificate charges of up to £180 on retail orders to EU consumers – even for those buying personal gift packs worth £30 – making his business unviable overnight . In 2021, the first year of Brexit trade, it lost £240,000 on its European wholesale and retail business and was looking at another £350,000 booking this year. And although the surge in domestic demand during the pandemic reduced losses, he could not see a route back into the single market as a small business. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Spurrell said the alliance with Joseph Heller, a much larger concern, offers strategic means to counter Brexit’s costly trade barriers. “If you are big enough, you can reduce the increased cost because the paperwork cost for one pallet of cheese can be spread over 100 pallets. It will also benefit all customers in the EU because they can get a local delivery price,” he added. He said the deal, which was for an undisclosed sum, was also great news for his workforce. All head office, production and warehouse staff will be retained while an additional 14 full-time and part-time positions will be created. “We were very worried about this Christmas. We didn’t know what was going to happen and my main thought was all the kids here with me. Now they’re all served with this fantastic company we’ve joined…it gives our team some future security.” George Heler, Joseph Heler’s group chief executive, said: “We are delighted to welcome Cheshire Cheese Company… Together, we are confident we can expand its reach across the UK and Europe.” Countless consumers and businesses have been hit by the extra costs of Brexit since 2020, as additional delivery costs make selling and buying from Europe sometimes prohibitively expensive. Recent analysis of trade statistics by the Institute for Economic and Social Research shows that trade from the UK to the EU was 16% lower than if Brexit had not happened.

title: “Cheesemonger Sells Business To Overcome Brexit Hurdles After Losing 600 000 In Sales Brexit " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-22” author: “Ryan Ali”

Simon Spurrell, who hit the headlines when he highlighted prohibitive export costs after the UK left the single market, will remain chief executive of Macclesfield-based Cheshire Cheese Company and retain a stake in the business. Its new owner, fellow North West England producer Joseph Heler Cheese, has maintained a presence in the EU as a result of its larger operations and distribution hub in the Netherlands, which Spurrell hopes will make it viable to supply European customers again. Spurrell said he was excited to be back on the continent after a two-year absence, but still can’t believe how the government destroyed small businesses like his with their decision to go ahead with a hard Brexit. “The sad thing is that small businesses like ours can’t access the EU,” he said. “Selling the company is an excellent solution… it secures the future of the company with a historic cheesemaker. “But I still feel very disappointed and bitterly disappointed that I have had so many conversations with the Department for International Trade and government ministers and nothing is happening. “They are incompetent because of their Brexit policy. They are so anti-European that they won’t even discuss working out a better deal. Access to the single market must be the first step.” Spurrell claims that after campaigning in the press last year to highlight his case, he was told by several people that Boris Johnson had referred to him as “that bloody cheese”. Government departments advised him to look for new business in “emerging markets”, advice he said was dire given the huge market on Britain’s doorstep. Spurrell founded the business in 2010 selling truckloads of wax-wrapped cheese and has won numerous awards for 15 artisanal varieties including cheddar, cheshire and royal blue. It grew by around 30% a year and by 2019 had decided to invest £1m in a warehouse in Macclesfield to fulfill orders in Europe for long-standing favourites, such as Irish whiskey and ginger stem cheddar, a gold winner at the International Cheese Awards. But when Brexit export rules came into force, he was hit with vet certificate charges of up to £180 on retail orders to EU consumers – even for those buying personal gift packs worth £30 – making his business unviable overnight . In 2021, the first year of Brexit trade, it lost £240,000 on its European wholesale and retail business and was looking at another £350,000 booking this year. And although the surge in domestic demand during the pandemic reduced losses, he could not see a route back into the single market as a small business. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Spurrell said the alliance with Joseph Heller, a much larger concern, offers strategic means to counter Brexit’s costly trade barriers. “If you are big enough, you can reduce the increased cost because the paperwork cost for one pallet of cheese can be spread over 100 pallets. It will also benefit all customers in the EU because they can get a local delivery price,” he added. He said the deal, which was for an undisclosed sum, was also great news for his workforce. All head office, production and warehouse staff will be retained while an additional 14 full-time and part-time positions will be created. “We were very worried about this Christmas. We didn’t know what was going to happen and my main thought was all the kids here with me. Now they’re all served with this fantastic company we’ve joined…it gives our team some future security.” George Heler, Joseph Heler’s group chief executive, said: “We are delighted to welcome Cheshire Cheese Company… Together, we are confident we can expand its reach across the UK and Europe.” Countless consumers and businesses have been hit by the extra costs of Brexit since 2020, as additional delivery costs make selling and buying from Europe sometimes prohibitively expensive. Recent analysis of trade statistics by the Institute for Economic and Social Research shows that trade from the UK to the EU was 16% lower than if Brexit had not happened.