Last month he was unable to pay himself a wage at all, even though he is working 90 hours a week in order to keep Lows Traditional Fish And Chips open.
“The total amount of cuts I have had to make to keep going has been £165,000, and I can’t cut any more because there is nothing left to cut,” he said. If VAT was cut back to 10% for hot food and he was able to claim 10% for his cold food costs, Walker says he would be “very happy”. “It is capping where we are already at and we are already screaming for help,” he said. “Anyone reading Liz Truss’s statement on energy bills was very underwhelmed. It doesn’t do anything for us, and if there is no help, I would say at least 60-70% of fish and chip shops in Scotland will end up shutting in the next few years.”
The industry’s official body, the National Federation of Fish Fryers , has warned that fish and chip shops are facing an “extinction event” because of the high prices of energy and fish.