UK businesses urged to prepare for winter

Water retailer publishes two useful guides to help firms prepare for the winter period

17 December 2018

Businesses are being encouraged to safeguard their operations ahead of the coldest months of the year to avoid a repeat of the damage inflicted by the Beast from the East on thousands of firms earlier this year.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research estimated that freezing weather costs the UK economy £1bn a day and that the financial impact of the Beast from the East and Storm Emma was the worst the country has experienced since Christmas 2010.

In the wake of the storm, which brought widespread snowfall and windstorms to the UK in February this year, water retailer Business Stream is urging businesses to make sure they are protected should another cold snap hit the country.

The retailer has published two visual guides – ‘Are you prepared for the big freeze this winter’  and ‘What to do in an emergency: How to take control of frozen or burst pipes’ that set out simple but essential steps to help businesses protect themselves against extreme winter weather. With many businesses either facing their busiest period of the year or a holiday shutdown, the guides have been produced by Business Stream to help its customers avoid any unnecessary costs or closures due to weather-induced water issues.

Jo Dow, Chief Executive of Business Stream, said: “Earlier this year we saw first-hand just how costly and damaging serious weather conditions can be. Whilst it’s hard to predict what lies ahead, we would advise all our customers to be prepared in order to protect themselves against any avoidable issues or expenses, which hopefully means they can then relax and enjoy the festive period ahead.”

For further details, the guides can be found here.