BUSINESSES are “stuck in no man’s land” facing an uncertain financial future, Adventure Island’s boss has warned.

At the end of last year inflation rose to a 10-year high, 5.1 per cent, more than double the Bank of England’s target of two per cent.

Philip Miller MBE, CEO of Adventure Island, fears inflation will continue to rise, amid surging living and trade costs.Philip

“Last year, we used over £550,000 worth of electricity. This year it could well be double that, we don’t know,” the businessman said.

“Food is just getting silly. Things we have previously bought for a reasonable price all of sudden are getting harder to find and are getting dearer.”

Mr Miller called on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to take command of the situation.

“Last year we put a lot of our prices down,” he explained. “We felt it was going to be a real hard year for people, and they would appreciate a bit of a bonus. And they did, they came out in their droves for us, but because we don’t know how this year is going to go.

“Our gut and our heart say keep prices low again this year, but until the Chancellor tells us what he is going to be doing, I don’t know what I am going to be doing. Until we know we are in no man’s land.”

Last week Mr Sunak said he understood “people’s anxiety and concern about rising prices and inflation” but defended the planned National Insurance hike of 1.25 per cent as necessary to tackle the backlog in the NHS from coronavirus.

A significant number of Tory MPs oppose the hike being imposed in April, as does Labour, amid spiralling living costs.

One think tank has estimated that families will face a £1,200 hit by April “from soaring energy bills and tax rises”.

“If people have less in their pockets, they are going to spend less at businesses like ours. If they have the choice of turning the heating on, or going for a day out in Southend, it’s a no brainer,” Mr Miller added.