Lincoln sun bed studio feeling burn of £50k energy bill hike

A tanning studio in Lincoln is fighting for its survival after an astronomical hike in electricity prices – which leaves the business in need of more than £50,000 extra cash to afford the bills next year.

Hot Chocolate Tanning Studio is entering its 18th year in business. Situated at Lincoln’s Carlton Centre, the store has been a mainstay for people wanting to use sun beds to top up their tan throughout the year.

There are a total of ten sun beds at the studio, with around 250 people using them during peak weeks in summer months.

The future of the business is now in doubt, and there are genuine fears of closure after an astronomical rise in electricity prices – an essential expense for a company such as this one.

Salon owner Lucy Wilkinson, 43, told The Lincolnite her business is dreading the “new wave” of financial turmoil, after so many struggled to navigate their way through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hot Chocolate currently pays 13p per kilowatt of electricity used, but a new deal with her energy supplier leaves her with a seemingly impossible gap to bridge. From December, her bills will now rise to 55.44p per kilowatt – a near 350% increase.

“It’s been such an emotional rollercoaster, dreading what might happen”, Lucy said. “I just want my business to survive, it’s a big worry.

“We can’t make money elsewhere really because the price of everything else is going up, too. It’s a lot for us to juggle right now.”

To contextualise just how quickly the price of electricity has soared, Hot Chocolate Tanning Studio was quoted a price of 30.7p on May 31 this year. In less than three months that has gone up to 55.44p.

Lucy told The Lincolnite that her June electricity bill was £2,500, but when the terms of the new agreement come in, it would have been £8,500.

It comes as energy companies continue to record billions upon billions of pounds in profit, while also warning of price hikes that could leave those most vulnerable in society without the financial means to heat or power their homes.

Lucy said now is the time for her voice to be heard, as she feels it is a case of energy companies “gambling with people’s lives” in light of the consistent price boosts.

She continues: “Next year I have to find around £55-60,000 just to pay the electricity bill, it’s got to a stage where we don’t know how much longer we have left as a business.

“Around one third of my income now goes on electricity alone, and it is only going to get worse. We will just have to take it month by month as December arrives, and due to being tied to two years of rent payments, we will be forced to pay these rates until we go bust.

“It breaks my heart to see these companies turning over huge profits and then doing this. I found myself thinking surely the government will help soon, surely the prices will drop, but nothing yet.”

With this large cost hike comes difficult decisions for Lucy. It isn’t just a case of her finances being affected, it is the careers of her seven staff members, as well as the customer base she has worked tirelessly to build up over the years.

She has had to put up the prices of her studio’s services, which could result in driving customers away.

“We’ve had mixed reactions to our increased rates”, Lucy added. “I’ve just had to be 100% honest with them and explain why are prices are going up. We had to act now so we didn’t collapse when business slowed in winter.

“Normally a 5p increase is considered when prices go up, but I’ve been forced to bump it up by 15p – which could be too much for our customers to handle.

“We’re trying to stay positive and we will always ensure we maintain our high standards, but we are a busy salon because a lot of customers like our staff and services.

“If I start losing my lovely, professional staff it won’t be the same place. I don’t know the answers, all I know is that rising costs have already closed so many businesses, and I don’t want us to be next.”

As Prime Minister candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak defend energy company profits and regularly reject windfall tax proposals on major corporations, small local businesses like this one feel the brunt and wonder how they can survive in a British economy on the verge of crisis.

Lucy in communication with the Federation of Small Businesses, as well as the Sunbed Association to try and raise awareness of these rising bills. It is truly desperate times for a business approaching two decades of service in Lincoln.

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