A children’s bike manufacturer has fallen into administration, with staff being made redundant. Frog Bikes, headquartered in Ascot, Berkshire, with a factory in Pontypool, Wales, has begun laying off staff after filing for administration.

The business was launched by parents Jerry and Shelley Lawson in 2013. According to their website, the company aimed to “create high-quality, lightweight bikes specifically designed for children”. It worked with Olympic bike engineer Dimitris Katsanis to create bikes perfectly suited to young riders.

However, official records on The Gazette show that Frog Bikes appointed Anthony John Wright and Alastair Rex Massey, of FRP Advisory Trading Limited, as administrators on Thursday, February 19.

The brand previously confirmed the news, citing “tighter financial markets and reduced access to funding (making) it increasingly difficult for growing manufacturing businesses to secure the requisite working capital”.

It also blamed Brexit and difficulties adjusting to post-pandemic “supply chain disruption”, as reported by road.cc.

In 2021, the owners of Frog Bikes claimed that leaving the EU cost them £250,000 in two months. Then, just two years later, their accounts showed losses of £500,000.

Staff at Frog Bikes are now being made redundant, with a few making announcements on LinkedIn describing it as “a difficult day”.

Many small business owners are fearful of the upcoming Autumn Budget, worried that new announcements could hit their growth prospects and finances hard. Concerns focus on potential increases in national insurance (49%), VAT (48%), and income tax (50%), which many believe would stall business expansion. Flexible working policies also worry traditional sectors, while property businesses fear any rises in Capital Gains or Inheritance Tax could ripple through the market.

Joanna Morris, Head of Insight at Novuna Business Finance told the Express: “Whilst almost daily there seems to be speculation over what will be announced in the Autumn Budget, in truth no one actually knows at this moment in time. Small businesses want support to power their growth plans forward but fiscal changes that add to the cost burden of UK small businesses, increase red tape or dampen consumer spending confidence could see trigger a fall in small business growth outlook.”

The UK’s annual Autumn Budget is set to take place on November 26. While there’s much speculation about possible changes to ISA limits, pensions, inheritance tax, and capital gains tax, nothing is confirmed yet.

Meanwhile, despite government efforts promoting trade deals with countries outside the EU and the US, new exclusive research from Novuna Business Finance reveals UK small businesses are turning inward focusing more on the domestic market than international expansion.

In a nationally representative survey of 1,000 small business owners across the UK, the percentage of businesses prioritising the UK market for future growth has surged to 84%, up from 64% in 2017, marking the highest level recorded since the survey began tracking attitudes eight years ago.

Sectors showing the greatest reliance on domestic growth including agriculture (97%), construction (96%) and hospitality (87%).

Interest in markets like the US and the EU has seen a notable decline. The desire to do business in the US, which had remained steady at around 16% for several years, has now dropped to 12%, the lowest point in eight years and well below the pre-pandemic high of 22% in early 2020.

The European Union, once a crucial trading partner for many small UK businesses, has seen its appeal wane dramatically. Back in 2017, 24% of small businesses identified the EU as a growth opportunity. That figure has now fallen to 17%. Countries in Europe outside of the EU have also seen interest being halved, down from 12% to just 6%.

Jo Morris added: “These new findings are possibly a consequence of the frustrations many small businesses have felt, following major political shifts over the last eight years. Our research in June 2017 revealed dismay over Brexit, with nearly a third of small business owners (31%) saying they wanted a new government that would reverse the Brexit decision.

“Forward wind to the start of 2025 and our Business Barometer survey revealed that more than seven in 10 small businesses (77%) said they were fearful that policies from the new US administration could have an adverse ripple effect on the outlook for small businesses here in the UK.

“Our new findings see this playing out, with a growing number of small businesses looking to the local UK market to deliver their aspirations for growth and expansion. In recent months, the UK government has heralded a string of so-called ‘historic’ trade deals with India, the United States, and the European Union.

“Our data questions whether this will deliver an uplift in confidence for UK small businesses, at a time when their growth forecasts are falling each quarter. Small businesses dislike uncertainty, and with the Autumn Budget approaching, many enterprises will be hoping for a Budget that is good for business.”

The UK’s economy is outperforming those of countries which are members of the eurozone – with Brexit a factor, a UK-based expert has said.

And, citing figures from Eurostat, the European Union’s own statistics division, Julian Jessop pointed to wages which were rising faster than those in the 19 countries signed up for the single European currency.

Posting on X, Mr Jessop, Economics Fellow at the Institute for Economic Affairs, pointed to figures indicating hourly wages and salaries increased by 4.5 percent in the #euro area in Q2 compared to a year earlier – about two percent above the average price inflation of 2.5 percent over this period.

However, he pointed out that, while not exactly comparable, UK average weekly regular earnings rose by 5.4 percent in Q2, 3.2 percent above CPI inflation.

He told Express.co.uk: “One reason why the British economy has outperformed the euro area so far this year is that real wages (after allowing for inflation) are rising more quickly in the UK.

“This has helped to underpin a stronger recovery in consumer spending.

He explained: “This mainly reflects a relatively tight labour market and shortages of workers, which in turn is due to a wide range of factors including increased long-term sickness, more people retiring early, and Brexit.

“The fact that employers can no longer rely on cheap labour from the EU is clearly having some beneficial impact on the wages of UK workers, even taking account of the adverse effects on costs and prices.

“Overall, this is good news for people in work, but sends mixed signals about the underlying health of the economy.”

Average wage increases in Germany, the bloc’s economic powerhouse, were slightly higher than the eurozone average, at 4.7 percent in Q2.

However, in France, the other major economy, they are lagging well behind, on 3.4 percent.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics for August 2024 indicate that the annual growth for regular earnings (excluding bonuses) was 5.4 percent from April to June 2024.

Growth was last lower than this in May to July 2022, when it was 5.2 percent.

Annual growth in employees’ average total earnings (including bonuses) was 4.5 percent.

However, this total pay annual growth rate is affected by the NHS one-off bonus payments made in June 2023, causing what is known as a “base effect”.