It's news we never like to bring you, but we want to be upfront about some price increases that have come into effect this week at The Packhorse.
It's news we never like to bring you, but we want to be upfront about some price increases that have come into effect this week at The Packhorse.
Why are prices going up?
A perfectly reasonable question, especially when we want to make university life as affordable as possible for you, but it's a decision we'd never make without clear rationale.
There are two main reasons why we've had to increase our prices:
The increase in minimum wage
As required by law, the National Minimum Wage increased by 4.7% at the start of April, and while it's great that our student staff will be paid more for their work, this has to be funded from somewhere. Price increases in our venues are one of the ways in which we can afford to sustain our current staff levels and offer you the same high level of service. We paid out over £700,000 in student salaries last year so the minimum wage increase makes a significant difference to our overheads (well over £30,000 per annum based on last year's expenditure if you're struggling to work it out).
Brexit uncertainty
Yep, sorry to bring the 'B word' up again but it's not going away any time soon. With no deal yet agreed on by Parliament, there are lot of unanswered questions on how people’s daily lives may be affected if we leave the EU without a deal. This includes the cost of food, which could be affected by tariffs (taxes) imposed on imported goods and changes to the value of the pound.
One thing we know for sure is that the uncertainty has already seen some of our suppliers hike up their prices – the knock on effect means our purchase costs are higher, and unfortunately this means we have to reflect these increases in our prices.
Why haven't SU prices gone up as well then?
For the SU Venue, we're able to buy a lot of our stock in bulk at the start of the year, meaning we've been able to hold our prices for the remainder of this academic year.
When did the changes come into effect?
Drinks prices increased in The Packhorse as of Monday 29 April 2019.
Are you still offering student discount?
Yes, you can still receive 10% off by showing your College, NUS Extra or TOTUM card.