Wheeler Dealers' Mike Brewer suddenly closes business after 15 years and blasts Labour

Wheeler Dealers star Mike Brewer has suddenly shut down his used car business after 15 years - blaming the Labour government for his spiralling costs.

The star of the hit TV show has posted a message on the company's website informing customers of the 'heartfelt decision' to close Mike Brewer Motors.

The used car dealership, based in Sheffield, will shut at the cost of 60 jobs. It had been run by Mike and three other directors in a joint venture.

The statement posted on the dealership's website on Friday afternoon said: "After many successful years in business, we have made the difficult decision to close Mike Brewer Motors. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our customers for their loyalty and support over the years. We are incredibly proud of the reputation we've built together."

Brewer blamed the Labour government's tax rises - such as the increase to employer National Insurance in last year's Budget - for the closure of the business.

But his current dealership, One Automotive, based in Warwick, is not affected by the closure.

Talking to Car Dealer Magazine, he said: "Unfortunately, because of the government - as it's heavily staffed that business - it's meant that it is untenable to run any more, what with the government's new taxation on staff.

"The onus is on the business owner and the market out there is really strong for competitiveness and you need to be really keen on your pricing to be able to sell high volume cars like we do out of Mike Brewer Motors, so we've taken the tough decision that we're going to have to wind that business down - we can't keep it going.

"We're losing money and it's all due to the government and what they've done recently with taxation."

Businesses have warned Chancellor Rachel Reeves of more pain for retailers if more tax increases are levied in her Autumn Budget on November 26.

Experts have warned that the upcoming autumn Budget "must deliver urgent support to avoid a wave of failures", particularly among small businesses.

The latest quarterly Red Flag Alert report by Begbies Traynor has revealed a 78% jump in the number of firms in "critical" financial distress to 55,530 in the third quarter of 2025, compared with a year earlier.

It said this also represented a 12.6% jump against the quarter to June, showing a sharply worsening situation for more than 6,000 businesses.

Consumer-facing businesses have come under particular threat in recent months, as they face pressure from rising labour costs and an uptick in inflation.

The data showed there was a 96.7% jump in leisure and cultural firms in a "critical" situations, with a 92.5% rise in hotels and accommodation, and 85.6% rise for retailers.

It comes amid fears that the Chancellor Rachel Reeves could turn to tax increases to help address the fiscal black hole in the UK's state finances.

Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor, said the woes of many UK businesses "shows the UK economy is in real trouble".

She added: "With over 55,000 companies now in serious financial distress, the upcoming Budget must deliver urgent support to avoid a wave of failures, especially among SMEs already operating on a knife edge.

"Unfortunately for UK businesses, inflation is going nowhere, putting further pressure on companies at a time when wage, tax, and financing costs are already high.

"Many firms have no room to manoeuvre, and instead of investing for growth, are scaling back just to survive - the opposite of what the economy needs, if it's going to recover and grow."