A study by Make It Cheaper and the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) has found that independent bars and restaurants are under threat from increasing costs.

According to the research, small business overheads have grown by nearly a quarter over a five-year period and more than half of small operators are concerned about their future. More than three quarters of independent bar and restaurant operators said that rising costs is the "most significant threat" to their survival.

Make It Cheaper and CEBR have created an inflation tracker for small business overheads, which has seen a 22.8 per cent increase in costs over the past five years. Jonathan Elliott, managing director of Make It Cheaper, said: "Rapid cost increases are placing the survival of small companies in jeopardy, and dampening the entrepreneurial spirit so crucial to economic recovery."