Henry Sandon and Iain Brunt have drawn up the following seven-point manifesto of steps Whitehall could take to revive the industry’s fortunes:
• The special margin scheme: “We currently pay VAT on the difference between the purchase price and the selling price, but we are not allowed to include restoration fees, shipping, reframing, or upholstery, making our profit margins even smaller.”
• Business rates: “We want these reduced for all small businesses to keep high streets and communities alive. Instead, they are changing our towns into huge shopping malls; we do not want to buy furniture from Ikea, Ikea, and Ikea. We want variety. There are many comments on this in our petition.”
• Support for other ‘heritage’ industries: “Surely the antiques industry plays an enormous part in our heritage and therefore we are asking for this to be considered and given help. We also note that other large organisations are being bailed out of the recession, but we also play a huge part in the English economy so why aren’t they helping us?”
• Tourism marketing: Various local authorities are spending large amounts of money in marketing their tourist industry. “Why cannot they include us in such marketing – we are one of the biggest attractions in the United Kingdom for our American visitors. As one American has written, ‘If you do not have antiques shops, I will not be spending my vacation with you’.”
• Global marketing: “We want effective marketing globally to make the world realise that England is the heart and centre of art and antiques.”
• UK marketing: “We want effective marketing within the UK to promote antiques, especially the notion that antiques are green: there is no manufacturing cost, they are very recyclable and if they have lasted for the past 100 years they will last another 100 years. This will reduce our imports, our rubbish, and landfills and help boost our economy.”
• Road signs: “We want to introduce more road signs pointing the way to antique shops and centres.”
Mr Brunt, who is gathering support for the campaign via his website, www.antiques.co.uk, is calling on dealers, antique centres and the general public to show their support by putting petition fliers in their shops and offices.
“We need many more signatures and our offices cannot do all the work, so please can you help either by emailing your address to mail@antiques.co.uk or call 0845 260 2 260 Mon-Fri (9-5),” he told ATG.
by Ivan Macquisten
