John Lewis has slammed the Government for making it more expensive to do business as it nurses losses that have more than doubled.
The department store and Waitrose owner said that losses for the first half of the year to 1 August were £89 million – compared to £34m last year.
Chairman Jason Tarry pointed to the ‘increased costs of doing business’, which includes the rising cost of employment following the increase in National Insurance contributions for employers.
Profits were also hit by the costs of managing the business during a succession of heatwaves over the summer.
But Tarry insisted a turnaround was still underway
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