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'Devastating and out of touch' - independent retailers react to Budget bombshell

1 Nov 2024

Independent retailers across Britain have reacted with dismay to yesterday's Budget, with many warning of store closures, job losses and cancelled expansion plans.
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Devastating Budget Delivers Triple Blow to Independent Retailers, Says ACT and Bira

30 Oct 2024

The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) and the ACT have condemned today's Budget as the most damaging for independent retailers in recent memory, with... Read more…

Retailers paying one-third of all UK business rates despite making up only 9% of economy

30 Oct 2024

Retailers and hospitality businesses are paying three times their economic share in business rates, according to analysis by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and UK Hospitality.
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How much cash do you still accept? Independent cycling retailers can respond to this survey today

30 Oct 2024

ACT parent company Bira is working with UK Finance and other organisations who form the UK’s wholesale cash industry to gain vital information to ensure businesses get the best possible... Read more…

Bira Conference a huge success with ACT members in attendance

25 Oct 2024

ACT members were in attendance at the hugely successful Bira Conference in London last week, featuring an inspiring line-up of speakers providing valuable insights from independent retail... Read more…

Bira cautiously welcomes retail sales growth but calls for continued support

11 Oct 2024

ACT parent company Bira has responded to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor for September 2024
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FSB launches blueprint to revitalise UK high streets and boost tourism

3 Oct 2024

The Federation of Small Businesses has launched a new initiative, which it says aims to transform high streets across the UK, by advancing economic, social, and cultural benefits, while also... Read more…

Award-winning gin distillery to open new shop in Morecambe

3 Oct 2024

A family-run gin company is set to open a new distillery and shop in Morecambe.
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‘Largest independent bookshop in the country’ to open in York

3 Oct 2024

Independent booksellers Topping & Company will open a new bookshop over multiple floors in central York in autumn 2025.
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Three quarters of British shoppers would ban paper receipts on eco grounds, new data shows

3 Oct 2024

3 in 4 Britons (77%) would ban paper receipts if they knew how many trees were cut down to generate them – and millennials are the most eco-conscious (rising to 87%).
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Frankie Bridge helps launch search to find Britain's Best Small Shop of 2020

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

Singer and now author Frankie Bridge has helped launch the search to find the UK's Best Small Shop of 2020.

Visiting independent bookshop Linghams in Heswall, the Wirral, Frankie, whose new book Open: Why Asking For Help Can Save Your Life is now available at booksellers across the UK, kickstarted this year's competition for which entries are now open.

The annual competition, which culminates in a ceremony at the Houses of Parliament, highlights the best of Britain's independent retail sector, celebrating the commitment and creativity of independent retailers on the UK's High Streets and the central role they play in their local communities. It is managed by the Independent Retailers Confederation (IRC).

Previous winners have included Bristol-based delicatessen Papadeli, the 2019 winner, and The Mainstreet Trading Company, a combined bookshop, café, deli & homeware shop based in St Boswells, in the rural Scottish Borders, which won in 2018.

To enter, shops must be an independent retailer, defined as a non-corporate business selling goods or services to the public for use or consumption rather than for resale, from a business rated premises in the UK.

Competition entrants will be challenged with promoting the benefits of their retail offering to consumers with part of the selection process being voted on by the general public on the contest's website.

"Despite the challenging retail environment, there is plenty of evidence that people value and think it is important to support small local businesses and independent retailers"

"Despite the challenging retail environment, there is plenty of evidence that people value and think it is important to support small local businesses and independent retailers," explains Mark Walmsley, Chairman of the Independent Retailers Confederation.

"These retailers sit at the heart of communities up and down the country, offering a meeting place, not to mention choice, diversity, innovation and genuine customer service. That's what we are celebrating with these awards. We have a bright and vibrant independent retail sector and it's important that we put it in the spotlight."

2019 research by the British Independent Retailers Association (member of the IRC) found that independent retailers opened 4.5% more shops in 2018 than a year earlier, with independents accounting for 64% of all retail and leisure units in Great Britain.

To enter your shop for the Best Small Shops Competition 2020, visit https://www.indieretail.uk/best-small-shops/.

Enter the Best Small Shops competition now

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