Business owners re-mortgage homes

A survey among 300 smaller companies by insurance firm More Than also revealed that more than a third of owners had taken “significant” pay cuts over the past five years, often by as much as half.

Other cost-saving measures have included moving to smaller premises and cutting marketing and advertising budgets.

Janet Connor, managing director of More Than, said: “It’s sad that so many small business-owners have had to remortgage their homes and take hefty pay cuts, but at the same time it shows real compassion on their part that they’re prepared to sacrifice personal gains for the sake of their staff.”