Small businesses in Islington have found themselves increasing their prices in response to higher charges from suppliers as well as elevated energy bills.

One such business is Koyo Coffee and Workspace, opened by Nurul Amin and his business partner in North Road in March.

He said: “The problem is not just the energy bills, obviously in line with inflation and stuff like that wholesalers have put their prices up for everything.

“We’ve just had to increase and add a service charge where customers are using like the electricity, the Wi-Fi. It doesn’t really help too much but it does help somewhat towards the bill.”

According to the Office for National Statistics food prices were 14.5 per cent higher last month, compared to a year earlier.

This impacts small businesses that serve food, such as Half-Cut, a popular independent deli and wine bar in York Way.

Holly, who founded and runs the venue with three friends, said: “We’ve had to put our prices up. I’ve been trying to stall as long as possible because we think of ourselves as a community place and a neighborhood spot – so I want to try and hold on passing them on from our customers – but it’s just inevitable.

"If I’m buying something for £3, I can't sell it for £3.50 anymore. It just doesn’t make any sense.

“We’ve had suppliers that normally put their costs up maybe once a year after the budgets – I've had several suppliers putting their prices up twice, three times.”

The problem is compounded by rising energy prices that hit food and drink venues, which typically have high energy needs.

UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “The sky-high levels of inflation
we’re seeing are continuing to put the hospitality sector under huge pressure and businesses across the country will be fighting to survive the winter.

"With hospitality inflation contributing heavily to the overall inflation rate, we now risk an inflationary spiral where our higher costs lead to higher taxes which lead to even higher prices.”

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, is due to deliver lay out details of the government's economic strategy in his Autumn Statement on November 17.