Yate bar opened in memory of owner's daughter closes due to soaring bills

  • Watch Victoria Davies's report here

A woman who opened a cabaret bar in memory of her daughter has made the difficult decision to close its doors for good because of soaring energy bills and rising costs.

Michelle Griffin, the owner of Shan's cabaret bar in Yate, says it cannot afford to keep operating.

She said: "It's £12,000 a year on gas and electric at the moment, without any cap it could be £50,000 or £60,000 a year.

"We're not protected in any way, we haven't had any warning and I haven't got the revenue to pay that.

"It's not a luxury, we need lights, we need gas and we need electric."

But it's not just Michelle that's going to have difficult times ahead - her employees are also going to be left jobless as the country faces the rising cost of living.

"People that work here, that have been here since the beginning, how do I tell them that it's closing so they've got no job?", she added.

"The people that come on a regular basis that love the venue, there's no venue anymore, so yeah, really hard."

The bar, once full of life, will now lie empty Credit: Michelle Griffin

For Michelle, it's not just about the loss of her business and livelihood - the bar was named after her 23-year-old daughter who loved to sing.

She died five years ago from a serious complication of diabetes.

"It's not like losing her again but it's like losing another bit. When people die you hand back their driving license and you hand back their passport and little by little, they're gone and now this is like another little bit. I'm always going to have her memory, so it's just detaching that now because so much of her went into this."

The Federation of Small Businesses says urgent help is needed, especially as companies are not eligible for the energy price cap.

In a statement to ITV News, it said: "Any cost of living plan worth the name needs to tackle the mounting energy bills small firms face.

"Inaction won't just lead to spiralling prices but to a generation of lost businesses, jobs and potential.

“We’ve been pushing for a package for immediate help for small businesses struggling with soaring energy bills: extending the energy rebate issued via the council tax system to the business rates system as well, reversal of the jobs tax, direct help with bills for those small firms which don’t pay business rates, and cutting VAT on energy consumption.”

Shan died five years ago due to a serious complication of diabetes Credit: Michelle Griffin

The Government says it will continue to support businesses navigating the months ahead.

A spokesperson said: “No national government can control the global factors pushing up the price of energy, but we will continue to support business.

"This includes doubling our support for high energy usage businesses, reducing employer national insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance, slashing fuel duty, introducing a 50% business rates relief and putting the brakes on bill increases by freezing the business rates multiplier - worth £4.6 billion over the next five years.”