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Business hit by cost of 'yob culture'

Published On 12 March 2007 at 11:20:11

British businesses are being hit financially by an increase in 'yob behaviour', according to a new study.

Research conducted by Royal & SunAlliance (R&SA) found that during 2006, the UK's firms were on average £5,000 out of pocket as a result of such behaviour - up from £2,300 the year before.

Despite the 120 per cent increase in costs, the number of companies who claim to have been affected by yob behaviour declined between 2005 and 2006 from one third to one fifth.

Some 27 per cent of affected businesses think that the introduction of 24-hour drinking at the end of 2005 has fuelled this rise in yob 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," Tesh Patel of R&SA said.

"This is a huge burden on UK businesses, especially on smaller companies that will struggle to cope with the financial loss."

The industry identified by the study as worst affected by yob behaviour was the retail and consumer sector, with businesses operating in this area reporting an average loss of £9,000 over 2006.

The Federation of Small Businesses recently called on the Home Office, police and local authorities to address the problem of small business crime which it said costs the UK's firms £19 billion a year.

According to the report, a fifth of crimes in Britain are against businesses - but they often go unreported as companies believe "it wouldn't achieve anything".

 

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