Will rising petrol prices kill physical events in the North West?

WITH petrol prices soaring past ₤1.50 per litre, will in person events become a thing of the past for North West businesses? This week, the UK saw petrol prices rise to record levels, averaging 163.71 pence per litre for standard unleaded. With the war in Ukraine as brutal as ever, European sanctions on Russian oil are only getting stricter, with the price of fuel likely to keep climbing as the conflict escalates. Chief oil and gas researcher for Investec bank, Nathan Piper, has warned MPs to expect:- "continued rises."

For UK residents, who have been hit with a ₤34 billion increase in gas and electricity bills, the added cost of filling up could not have come at a worse time. Businesses are already saying they can't cope with the new petrol prices and the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is under immense pressure to slash fuel duty.

If travelling becomes too expensive, will people still attend in person concerts, trade shows and other events? Most businesses transitioned to hybrid or remote activity during the Pandemic, with many events going virtual to accommodate social distancing. For companies which are back running in person events, the price of oil could seriously impact their bottom line.

Lawrence Gillward, Director of Operations at Wilmslow based event solutions company, All In The Loop, said:- "We saw a massive boom in demand for virtual and hybrid events during the Pandemic, but in person events have been making a comeback this year. With fuel prices as high as they are, we're now seeing more interest in hybrid options, which can pivot to fully virtual if enough attendees cannot attend physically."

Lockdown restrictions led to Hospitality and leisure firms making just 60% of their pre Pandemic revenue, according to the Events Research Programme, with that figure dropping to just 51% for indoor seated venues.

The North West was hit especially hard by Covid19, with almost 9,000 symptomatic cases in 2021 alone, the most of any UK Region. If the number of people travelling to physical events decreases, the fallout from this reduced footfall could be the last straw for many North West businesses, which are still recovering from lockdown disruption.

Mr. Gillward concluded:- "Companies, particularly in the live event sector, should aim to become more resilient to disruption from price spikes and other uncontrollable factors. Businesses should always consider contingency plans when running events and switching from in person to a hybrid or virtual format can help with this."

Tips to stay safe as fuel theft set to spiral due to huge hikes in prices

USED car buying service ChooseMyCar is warning UK drivers to be mindful of fuel theft, as the level of the crime is set to significantly rise due to soaring fuel prices.

Theft of petrol and diesel from vehicles is a crime that costs UK drivers millions of pounds, every single year. In 2018, an enormous ₤1.1 million worth of fuel was stolen from London alone. Worryingly, only 1% of these thefts were prosecuted, meaning it's almost an unpunishable crime. In figures estimated by Crown Oil, it was claimed that the cost of fuel theft to the UK was over ₤9 million.

In the US, some Police departments are already reporting a significant increase in fuel thefts from private vehicles. With petrol prices edging to a ridiculously unaffordable ₤2 per litre, it's highly likely the UK will see similar trends. Thames Valley Police, North Wales Police and Devon and Cornwall Police are just some of the Police services that are warning of rises in fuel theft crimes in the last few days, as prices soar.

Founder of ChooseMyCar.com, Nick Zapolski, told us that:- "The price of fuel is now so high that no 1 can afford to lose any through theft. Sadly, it's extremely likely that the UK will see a sharp increase in this crime as fuel prices continue to go through the roof. The good news is that there are some steps you can take to protect yourself and your vehicle from fuel theft. We're urging drivers to take steps to not become a victim; by taking small steps you could prevent yourself from becoming a target."

Nick Zapolski, has compiled given us a list of top tips to keep drivers safe as the rate of fuel theft rises. They are as follows:-

► Secure the area where your car is parked. If you have a garage to park in overnight, you should be safe. But for those of us who don't have that luxury, consider how to secure the area in which your vehicle is parked. If possible, park in well lit areas where criminals would not be able to go unnoticed. If that's not possible, consider installing security lighting or motion sensors.

► Practice defensive parking; It sounds counterintuitive to those of us who care about our paintwork, but parking.

► Close to over vehicles seriously limits a criminal's ability to syphon off your fuel. Where it's safe, park close to a wall or another vehicle for the best chance to avoid fuel theft. At the very least, make sure your fuel cap side is parked on the side of the road as opposed to the pavement.

► Fit a lockable filler cap - Although some thieves may get around this, having a lockable filler cap is a quick way to seriously deter fuel theft. Just make sure you keep it locked!

► Install some sort of alarm system - This could be a full scale car alarm, a fuel level or alarm, or something as similar as laying gravel where you usually park at home. Noise deterrents are particularly effective as syphoning off fuel takes time, unlike a theft from inside a vehicle or even the theft of the vehicle itself.

► Think about installing CCTV - New systems such as Nest make this surprisingly easy; practically and on the pocket. Camera systems are essential to prevent crime and to catch criminals; so it's worth doing not just for fuel theft but for wider vehicle and property crime.

► Consider whether you need to take that trip in your car - If it's just a short trip or 1 you could take on public transport, consider whether you need to take your car at all. If your car is safe at home, do what you can to leave it there.