Costs of doing business set to rise

The majority of small business owners are expecting the cost of running a business to rise significantly during 2008, according to research carried out by the Royal Bank of Scotland Business.

It found that most of those questioned believed that rises in costs where inevitable, with many citing rising interest rates, rent, tax, property prices, supply and salary costs as the most pressing concerns.

Three quarters of business expect the cost of supplies to go up during 2008 adding to pressure to raise prices.

"Small business owners are acutely aware of the impact that additional fixed costs can have on the bottom line, and the majority will have seen many of these costs increase exponentially over the past few years," said Ivan Matviak, head of Royal Bank of Scotland Business Banking.