Yorkshire hotel boss 'overjoyed' as energy price intervention averts £4m bill

Mr Topley said: “The announcement was a really positive step for households and for businesses.

"Cedar Court has a fixed rate agreement running out on December 1 and we were going from an industry utility cost of £700,000 to the best quote I could get on Monday morning being £4m.

"In a business that makes £3m profit, that just doesn’t make sense.

"I’ve really struggled with this for the last six weeks trying to get a sensible rate. So I’m absolutely overjoyed.

"We think the bill is going to be £1.7m – it still doubles but it isn’t going to be as bad.”

The new Prime Minister announced that energy bills for the average household will be frozen at no more than £2,500 for two years.

For businesses and other non-domestic users such as schools and hospitals, which have not been covered by the existing price cap, a six-month scheme will offer equivalent support.

After that there will be ongoing support for the most vulnerable industries, with a review in three months’ time to decide where the help should be targeted. The plan will be paid for by tens of billions of pounds of borrowing.

Mr Topley said while the initial six-month time limit on support for businesses was “the next concern”, he noted : a precedent had been set during Covid for support for businesses being extended when necessary.

"In our hotel group we havespent £400,000 in the last three months getting ready for these utility increases. We have invested in solar power, different heat sources and infrastructure such as windows.

"This gives us another six months to continue our investment cycle.”

Mr Topley, who is also chair of the Leeds Hotels & Venues Association, said: “I hope a lot of people in our industry see we have got a bit of a six-month Get Out of Jail Free card. It is what you do with those months that is important.”

He said the support to mitigate price rises for households is also vital for the industry.

"There was a real concern people would have had no money in their pockets to spend at businesses. A two-year agreement on the personal side has really given some businesses confidence that yes, costs are going up and there are other cost pressures but the utility one has been resolved.

"That is the clarity that customers have been waiting for as we have all seen a slowdown in the last six to eight weeks.

"It is arguably a bigger saviour for businesses than the business relief we have had. It is a double bonus really. "We were looking for some kind of reassurance and something to build some confidence from. This is not a silver bullet but it does give us some confidence.”