Thug behaviour hits business costs
Yob behaviour cost UK businesses an average of £5,000 in 2006, more than double the costs of the previous year, according to research by Royal and SunAlliance.A quarter of business owners feel that the introduction of 24-hour drinking has increased the problem of hooligan damage. Despite a reduction in the number of businesses affected from one-third in 2005 to one-fifth in 2006 the survey revealed a 120 per cent increase in costs incurred, suggesting that cases of yob behaviour, including theft, broken windows, graffiti or intimidation, have increased in severity.The retail industry was also found to be the worse hit with average damages of £9,000 each year.Just over a quarter of companies affected by thugs attribute the rise in the antisocial behaviour damage to the introduction of 24-hour drinking.The survey also noted "huge differences" from region to region. A third of businesses in the north-west were said to be affected by yob behaviour last year, followed by a quarter of companies in the Midlands.In sharp contrast, 12 per cent of businesses in eastern England and 16 per cent of Scotland's enterprises said they were affected by such behaviour."Our research shows that although the number of cases of yob behaviour has reduced as the government continues to tackle this problem, the financial impact is actually on the increase," said R&SA corporate development director Tesh Patel."This is a huge burden on UK businesses, especially on smaller companies that will struggle to cope with the financial loss," he added.
Share this..
Related stories
Barclays chief executive apologises to couple
Barclays bank chief executive John Varley has today apologised personally to two Barclays bank customers who have been proven to have received inappropriate investment advice. John Day, 76, and his wife Maureen were advised by a Barclays bank representative to place more than three quarters of their investment capital into a "single risky investment fund". The couple lost tens of thousands of pou...
Read MoreWhat does the future hold for the UK economy?
As the Office for National Statistics issues yet more revisions regarding the performance of the UK economy during the first quarter of 2009 there are concerns about UK government forecasts for the future. The UK government is forecasting economic growth of 1.25% in 2010 although the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development believes that the UK economy will show no growth and effecti...
Read MoreMore positive signals from the UK retail sector
Today saw Poundland, House of Fraser and the Co-op joined the growing band of retailers reporting better-than-expected figures over the festive period. Slowly but surely we are seeing the formation of a base in UK retail sector even if the likes of Justin King, chief executive of Sainsbury, has suggested that the worst is yet to come. So what is happening in the UK retail sector? Just prior to...
Read MoreAlistair Darling warns against increased risk-taking by UK banks
Despite threatening to introduce one of the strictest regulatory environments in the U.K.'s history, Alistair Darling has this evening suggested he would go further if UK banks do not agree to withdraw from various high-risk investment areas. This comes at a time when big city fat cats are yet again attracting significant bonuses and significant remuneration packages, even though we have not yet l...
Read MoreHSBC optimistic for the future
Banking giant HSBC has today delivered third-quarter figures which were better than expected and showed that bad debts provisions have fallen to their lowest level for 12 months. It is fair to say that these figures surprised many analysts who believed that in line with the general banking sector, HSBC Management would attempt to downplay any recovery and increase bad debt provisions.
Read More