‘It’s just not sustainable’: Bowen Pies boss announces Chorley shop closure

A Chorley businessman has issued a direct challenge to Prime Minister Andy Burnham as he announced the closure of a Bowen Pies shop amid rising costs.

Bowen Pies director Paul Bowen has taken his concerns about the pressures facing small businesses directly to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, saying one of his shops is no longer financially viable despite taking almost £100,000 a year.

In a strongly worded video and social media post addressed to the Prime Minister, Bowen blamed rising employment costs, energy bills, business rates and wages for the decision.Burnham, who returned to Parliament as MP for Makerfield in June before becoming Labour leader and Prime Minister in July, has now been challenged by the Lancashire businessman to do more to help firms struggling with their costs. 

Bowen said: “Andy Burnham, I’m closing a shop that takes nearly £100,000 a year… Why? Because it’s just not sustainable.

“And just to be clear, Bowen Pies isn’t closing, we’re closing one of our little shops.”

He pointed to other recent high street closures and empty units as evidence that the difficulties extend beyond his own business.

“Look around Chorley or your home town. How many shops have ‘To Let’ signs in the windows?” he said.

“Last week, even Poundbakery closed. Now we’re closing this shop. Does two bakeries closing within a week not tell you something?”

Bowen said the economics of running a smaller shop had changed significantly.

“Years ago, this shop would tick over and pay its way. Now, with employer’s National Insurance, energy bills, business rates, wages and everything else, there just isn’t enough left.

“Personally, I think the increase in employer’s National Insurance has been the tipping edge.

“We were already trying to cover everything else going up. Then the government made it more expensive to employ people.”

He said businesses were left with increasingly difficult choices when their costs rose.

“Where do you think that money comes from?

“We either put prices up, cut hours, stop taking people on or, like we’re doing here, close.”

Energy costs also came under fire, with Bowen questioning how much of a commercial electricity bill was actually accounted for by the wholesale cost of electricity.

“And don’t get me started on energy,” he said.

“Wholesale electricity typically makes up around 40% of a business electricity bill. Then you’ve got network charges, government levies and supplier costs added on.

“What are you actually doing to bring those down?”

Bowen also contrasted the pressures faced by smaller businesses during the energy crisis with profits announced by major energy companies.

“We saw the likes of Shell announce record profits during the energy crisis, while we were wondering how much it would cost to keep the ovens on.”

From Chorley butcher to national pie business

Bowen Pies has roots stretching back more than 30 years.

The family business was established in 1994, originally operating as a small butcher’s shop in Chorley. According to the company, pies were initially made at the back of the shop before becoming so popular with customers that they developed into the main business.

Founder Vince Bowen was later joined by his son Paul, with the company growing beyond its Chorley roots and developing nationwide delivery.

Bowen Pies says it now produces around 40,000 pies every week, supplying homes, shops and venues across the UK. Its current website lists outlets on Harpers Lane and Market Street in Chorley and Chorley Road in Adlington.

Paul Bowen also gained national attention in 2024 when he appeared as a candidate on series 18 of BBC One’s The Apprentice.

He entered Lord Sugar’s business competition representing the family pie firm, but his time in the boardroom was relatively brief, with Bowen becoming the second candidate to be fired from that year’s series.

Now his attention is firmly on the pressures facing businesses back home in Lancashire.

Rather than simply criticising the Government, Bowen set out changes he believes could make a difference, including scrapping or significantly reducing employer’s National Insurance for small businesses, reducing business rates, easing the VAT burden and bringing down commercial energy costs.

“Let us grow. Let us take people on. Let us have something left to put back into the business,” he said.

And in perhaps his most forthright message to the Prime Minister, Bowen added: “Because you can keep trying to tax your way out of debt and increase it but remember 60% of f*** all is still f*** all….”

For Bowen, the closure is evidence that even a shop generating substantial turnover can struggle when the costs underneath it continue to climb.

His message to Downing Street is simple: make it easier for small firms to employ people and retain enough of their income to invest back into their businesses.

Bowen ended his post by asking whether the number of business closures seen so far this year will ultimately prove to be the beginning of a wider trend.