More from the Go Southampton campaign

The interview on Your Green breakfast continues a report on Southampton traders facing rising revenues but even faster-rising costs, including utilities, supplies, insurance, business rates and staffing expenses such as minimum wage, national insurance and pension contributions, leaving extremely tight margins.

Spencer Bowman, founder and MD of Mettrics/Ascapart, discusses running four Southampton coffee shops (Woolston, Portswood Road with the Ascapart roastery, Guildhall Square and West Quay) and his passion for the city’s business community.

He tells host Xan Phillips that some cost increases are justified—supporting fairer pay for coffee farmers and higher wages for staff—but argues the combined increases across the cost base, including national insurance and business rates, feel punitive and risk making many independents unsustainable.

Bowman describes a recent local hospitality get-together where operators shared pressures and fears, and explains that even strong customer demand cannot offset costs because prices cannot rise indefinitely; he notes electricity and coffee costs have doubled over time, minimum wage has nearly doubled, and matching these rises would mean charging around £6 for a latte.

With another minimum wage increase adding about £1,500 per employee annually, he expects Mettrics to be loss-making and warns that without some relief in the cost base, businesses like his—without major financial backers—may have to close sites, with a majority of Southampton hospitality operators not sustainable long term.

He frames hospitality as essential community meeting space and says the sector is not asking for subsidy, but a fair chance to remain financially sustainable so it can keep providing those spaces.