Petrol Price Rise Costs Business Extra Pounds 134m

By DAVID WILLIAMS

SOARING fuel and congestion charge costs are hitting firms’ profits hard.

Two thirds of leading finance directors now rank the cost of petrol and diesel as a major concern, compared with fewer than a third a year ago, new figures reveal today.

In the past year petrol has rocketed nearly 10p a litre to an average 88.7p.

Diesel has shot up by 7.5p a litre to 92.3p.

The rise has cost business – which runs about 1.3 million company cars – an extra Pounds 134 million over the past 12 months, says vehicle management company LeasePlan.

A firm running 100 Audi A4 1.9-litre diesel cars, each covering 15,000 business miles a year, is paying at least Pounds 10,000 a year more for fuel than 12 months ago.

“It is wrong to think only the haulage industry is affected.

The UK economy as a whole is feeling the pinch,” said Lease- Plan’s Kevin McNally.

One in four finance chiefs think road charging will also have a serious impact on business, up from 14 per cent a year ago. Mr McNally said: “Though road pricing schemes can reduce the volume of traffic, they can also create an additional financial burden on the business community.”