THE boss of Lush has warned of an “anti-business” climate and backed free movement of people as fundamental to capitalism.

Mark Constantine, who co-founded the cosmetics giant in Poole 21 years ago, was the guest at the Jobshop UK and Engage Executive Jobs’ Directors Lunch at Bournemouth’s Hilton Hotel.

Mr Constantine said 75 per cent of everything sold on the high street today was made abroad and the only two high street businesses that made all of their domestic products in Britain were Greggs and Lush.

He said the company was the 43rd fastest growing business in Britain and needed plenty of recruits.

He argued that capitalism relied on free movement of capital, goods and people and they could not be separated. The climate in Britain was anti-business, with both main political parties seeking to cut immigration while encouraging capitalism, he claimed.

His talk followed an update by Jobshop UK directors Frances Miles and Tracey Wood, who said the recruitment market had changed rapidly in the past two to three months.

With 31.7million people in employment, 1.6m unemployed and 750,000, they said it looked as though there should be enough people to fill all the vacancies. But they said many of those in the unemployment figures could not take up work or did not have the skills needed for the vacancies. The situation would worsen if the economy lost the 3.2m non-British workers in the UK, they said.

They said there was a candidate shortage highlighted by the reliance on the 25 per cent of the Poole workforce that did not hold British passports, as well as a skills shortage that had increased from 30 to 70 sector areas in the past 18 months. There was a shortage of more agile and motivational workers for a fast-paced and unsure environment.

Frances Miles said: “We’ve been delighted by the huge popularity of the Jobshop UK and Engage Executive Jobs Directors’ Lunches, and have been privileged to have some fascinating speakers who have helped make all the lunches a sell-out success. Mark’s presentation was particularly pertinent with the current economic and political climate, and 2017 will see us welcoming more high profile and relevant speakers to the floor.”