A young entrepreneur has been forced to close her Liverpool bakery after enduring the "hardest ever" conditions for small businesses, including measures introduced by Rachel Reeves. Self-taught baker Leanne Prescott confirmed she will shut one of her Cake Corner shops in Southport, after opening three locations within two years.

Having grown her business through Instagram and worked from an outhouse at her home, the entrepreneur opened her first shop in 2021 on Liverpool Road in Hillside at the age of 20, before getting a spot at Southport Market. At the age of 22, she followed this up with a third location in Ormskirk Market.

At the time, she told Liverpool Echo that she had "no intention" of stopping there, but five years after opening her first shop, she has announced the closure of Hillside. The Ormskirk Market location is also no longer listed on her website.

Posting a lengthy statement on Instagram, Leanne explained it was "not a decision we have taken lightly", describing the shop as "the place where our dreams all started".

She said: “The current climate is the hardest it has ever been for small business owners like myself. I see more and more amazing independent businesses having to close their doors, which is so devastating."

Leanne stressed it did not mark the end of the business, confirming that customers can still visit Southport Market, its new Pink Trailer, and its occasion cake service.

Describing the business climate as "much more manageable" in 2021, Leane said several pressures had built up since then, which made it "increasingly difficult to continue with a permanent shop space in a sustainable way".

The owner explained that the rise in minimum wage was "one of the biggest changes" and the associated costs had almost doubled since she started.

This tends to rise every year, and in April, it increased to £12.71 for those over the age of 21 and £10.85 for 18-20 year olds after Rachel Reeves confirmed the changes in the autumn Budget. Several businesses claimed this made it harder to hire younger people and maintain the required number of staff.

Increased shop rents, rising utility bills, fuel costs and business rates have "added further pressure". The "significant" rise in ingredients prices also "made it difficult to keep prices fair for customers while still covering our costs and maintaining the quality we're proud of".

She added: "In terms of trade, we're very busy at peak times such as school run hours, but outside of that the shop can be much quieter during the day, making consistent footfall hard to rely on."