UK beer prices will rise, warns Cobra founder
COBRA beer founder Lord Bilimoria has warned that prices will have to go up - even though households are struggling.
His brewing empire, he said, is battling the same "vicious cycle" of cost increases as other firms. The Anglo-Indian businessman, 61, who is also president of the CBI employers' group, told BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up To Money: "Our input costs in every way - bottling, energy - are up. Freight costs have soared, sometimes ten times.
"Wages are increasing and on top of that there are labour shortages. But the consumer is already feeling the squeeze. "It is a really challenging situation for everyone. There's no running away from that."
Lord Bilimoria's warning came 24 hours after Tesco chairman John Allan predicted that the worst price rises are yet to come.He said food price inflation will reach five per cent by the spring to hit the "hardest-up harder".