Barber hits out at 'illegal operations and lack of regulations' after being forced to close his business

It comes as the government has given support to pubs through a 15 per cent business rate cut, but no relief has been granted to the wider hospitality industry.

For Jack and his family, the shop was more than a business - it was a place where his children grew up and a space for people to come together.

He told GB News that legitimate barbershops and hairdressers are being undercut due to lack of regulation in the sector, and fears for its future.

"Unfortunately we've been forced to close due to rising costs and a lack of support from government and local councils for our business," he said.

"We have faced a dilution of the industry due to a lack of regulations - many salons and barber shops are opening everyday throughout the UK and it's making legitimate barber shops and salon owners struggle because we're not playing on a level playing field.

"The industry has lost a lot of integrity - being a barber or salon owner was always about looking after your customers and working with your local community, but that's not the case now.

"We can't charge what we should be charging as a lot of salons around us are charging a lot less.

"The reason for that is they aren't paying their taxes, so legitimate business owners can't operate properly as they are competing with salons who don't do things the right way."

Last year police arrested hundreds of suspects as they raided thousands of barbers, nail bars and vape stores in a nationwide crackdown on money laundering on UK high-streets.

Cash-rich businesses, which have proliferated on British high streets in recent years, can be used for a range of crimes, including disguising dirty money, hiding drugs, people trafficking and smuggling tobacco and vapes, officials say.

Billions of pounds are laundered through the UK each year, around £12billion of which is processed in cash, with most of it coming from drugs.

Some areas, such as Essex and Doncaster, have seen the number of barber shops rise by 200 per cent in five years.

Illegal barbers tend to offer cheaper haircuts – sometimes for as little as £10, around half of the usual rate.

Barber Jack Pullen, who has been cutting hair for more than 20 years, told GB News that he worries illegal barber shops and enterprises are driving legitimate barbers like himself out of business, and says that he been forced to lay off 10 staff by closing his Catterick shop.

He believes that introducing a formal register for barbers would help, as at present anyone can set themselves up and start cutting hair.

"The biggest problem is that the industry doesn't have any regulation - anyone can open a barber shop, anyone can cut hair, you don't have to be licensed, you don't have to have qualifications and there's no level playing field," he said.

"So for a legitimate business, trying to compete with illegitimate businesses is a struggle.

"Therefore in my case 10 people have lost their jobs and have been made redundant because we can't afford to stay open, even though we're a very successful salon, so it's tough.

"The government could massively support our industry and regulation needs to be at the heart of it.

"Illegal working arrests and raids have reached the highest level in British history through the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement teams.

Latest figures reveal the number of raids have soared by 77 per cent in the UK since the government came into power, leading to an 83 per cent rise in arrests (July 2024 to end of December 2025).

Over 17,400 raids were made to dodgy businesses - such as nail bars, car washes, barbers and takeaway shops - targeting those attempting to undercut honest workers and hide in plain sight.

The major uplift, which led to more than 12,300 arrests, was made possible by a £5 million funding boost last year for Immigration Enforcement, to target and pursue illegal working criminality.

The crackdown on illegal working builds on this government’s work to restore order to the immigration system and end the lure of illegal working that gangs use to sell spaces on small boats.

It also supports the Prime Minister’s Pride in Place programme, to revive high streets and restore local neighbourhoods across the UK with a landmark £5billion funding.

This gives communities new powers to seize boarded-up shops, block nuisance businesses, and buy beloved local assets before they close.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "There is no place for illegal working in our communities.

"That is why we have surged enforcement activity to the highest level in British history so illegal migrants in the black economy have nowhere to hide.

"I will stop at nothing to restore order and control to our borders."

A British Hair Consortium report found last year that salon services are hit three times harder by labour taxes and VAT compared to other high-street operators and employment levels are set to plummet in the coming years, leading to a largely self-employed model.

That's because hair and beauty rely almost entirely on selling the services of staff, which is increasingly costly and cannot be claimed back against VAT.

Despite this, the sector is treated, for tax purposes, like any other retail business selling products.

Alongside staffing costs, which have increased with recent wage rises, the sector claims it is still struggling with higher debt post-pandemic, a change in high-street footfall and a lack of Government investment in hair and beauty apprenticeship schemes.

For barber Jack Pullen, to save the industry, there needs to be regulation and reform of the VAT tax system by reducing it, or tapering the way it is applied, or lowering the overall threshold.

He added that support for apprenticeship schemes and business rates must be urgently considered to protect the sector.

A Government spokesman said: “We’re backing the high street with a £4.3bn support package to limit business rate bill rises, alongside capping corporation tax at 25 per cent, cutting red tape and investing £1.5bn to create 50,000 more apprentices and foundation apprenticeships.”