Crime increasingly a ‘serious barrier’ to UK growth, say business leaders | Crime
Crime is becoming an increasingly “serious impediment” to the growth of the UK economy due to a rise in theft, fraud and cyber attacks on companies, business leaders in the UK have warned.
The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), which represents tens of thousands of businesses across the country, said two fifths of companies encountered some form of crime in the past year and called on the government for “a step change in the support businesses can rely on”.
Warning that decisive action is needed, the organization said that in a survey of 1,411 companies, a fifth of companies had encountered fraud or fraud. Some 21 percent said they had experienced cyber attacks.
Ellis Shelton, the BCC’s policy director, said tackling crime would help remove “structural barriers to growth”.
He said: “Crime against businesses is now a serious impediment to growth and investment across the UK.
“Our research shows that many firms are facing increasing levels of theft, fraud and cyber attacks. Bosses are being forced to direct significant time and money towards solving this anchor of growth.”
“Crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated and action needs to be taken on the support businesses can rely on.”
The organization said the government should create a cyberattack reporting system for companies; establishing regional commercial crime hubs that will bring together police and commercial crime reduction partnerships; and expanding cyber and fraud resilience support for small and medium-sized businesses. He also called for more incentives for companies to invest in security.
There have been a number of high-profile cyber attacks against businesses in the UK over the past year, including Marks & Spencer, Co-op, Jaguar Land Rover and Booking.com.
The JLR hack alone is estimated to have cost the UK economy £1.9 billion, potentially making it the costliest cyber attack in British history.
M&S said it had taken a £324 million hit to profits after it was forced to close its website to orders for more than six weeks following a damaging attack.
At the other end of the scale, tradespeople have warned of an increase in tool theft, which could negatively impact their ability to do business.
Retail businesses also complained about increased thefts. Thefts recorded by police increased by 20% annually, reaching 516,971 crimes by December 2024. As of March 2025, the annual total exceeded 530,000.
Another BCC survey last autumn found that large companies were more vulnerable to crime, rising from 32 percent of micro businesses to 58 percent of companies employing more than 250 people. He said the manufacturing sector was hardest hit, with 50% of companies reporting commercial crime.
