Apprentice Star Tells PM Pie Shop Closure Blamed on Rising Costs

Paul Bowen, a pie shop owner who competed on the 2024 season of The Apprentice, has informed Prime Minister Andy Burnham that he is closing one of his three businesses due to escalating operational costs.

Bowen, owner of Bowen Pies in Chorley, Lancashire, stated in a social media post directed at Burnham that a rise in employer's National Insurance contributions was the "tipping edge" leading to the closure of his Market Street shop, despite its annual revenue of £100,000.

"We were already trying to cover everything else going up. Then the government made it more expensive to employ people," Bowen wrote. He also highlighted increases in energy bills, business rates, and wages as contributing factors.

Bowen appealed for government action to "scrap or significantly reduce employer's National Insurance for small businesses, reduce business rates, ease the VAT burden and get business energy costs down." He added, "Let us grow. Let us take people on. Let us have something left to put back into the business."

Burnham responded to Bowen's post, acknowledging the widespread nature of such closures. "You're right that what you are seeing in Chorley is happening across the country," he said.

He announced an investment of £210 million aimed at revitalizing high street buildings by transforming empty spaces into community hubs, health centers, shared workspaces, and cafes. "I know people don't measure growth on a spreadsheet, they measure it on their high street. I'm determined to restore that pride," Burnham stated.