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Independent retail crisis deepens as nearly half see sales plummet compared to last year

12 Aug 2025

Britain's high street crisis has deepened dramatically with nearly half of independent retailers, including many in the independent cycling retail sector, reporting sales have crashed compared... Read more…

Independent retailers slam £5.9bn "de minimis" import loophole as Government delays action

11 Aug 2025

ACT parent company Bira has condemned the Government's inaction over the "de minimis" import loophole following a Sky News investigation revealing £5.9 billion worth of cheap imports... Read more…

Criminals undermining legitimate retailers as trading standards collapse

7 Aug 2025

Bira has warned that criminals are undermining legitimate retailers as trading standards services collapse, following a new Which? investigation.
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ACT welcomes Government's new product safety laws

23 Jul 2025

A leading cycle traders association has backed the government's move to protect consumers from dangerous products sold through online marketplaces, following Royal Assent of the Product... Read more…

Small Business Strategy Inquiry 2025 - ACT and Bira call for members to share their voice

20 Jun 2025

The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has asked the ACT, and its parent company Bira, to help them reach out to small business retailers across the country, for their quick input on... Read more…

Beyond the discount: Restoring integrity to the cycle supply chain

18 Jun 2025

The Association of Cycle Traders believes the time has come for greater accountability throughout our supply chain, writes ACT Director Jonathan Harrison in an article published for BikeBiz.
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Bira welcomes Wales' business rates proposals but calls for key improvements

11 Jun 2025

Bira has welcomed the Welsh Government's consultation on business rate reforms for retail shops, whilst calling for significant improvements to ensure the proposals truly support high street... Read more…

New awards launch to champion Britain's independent high street heroes

9 Jun 2025

Retailers on Britain's high streets are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the first-ever Love Your High Street Awards, designed to celebrate the small businesses that bring... Read more…

"Tectonic shift" in employment law threatens independent retailer viability, warns Bira podcast

6 Jun 2025

Independent retailers are facing a "generational" transformation of employment law that could fundamentally change how small businesses operate, according to the final episode of Bira's first... Read more…

Retailers hope warm weather and bank holidays will boost high street sales

16 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has said that members are hopeful the warm weather, Easter weekend and upcoming bank holidays will provide a much-needed boost to high street sales.
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IRC creates Independent Retailers Rent Survey

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Although the high street has now been able to IRCreopen for a full month now, this does not mean the problems caused by the COVID-19 crisis are anywhere near over.

The Independent Retailers Confederation's (IRC) aim to assist high street shops in getting back up and running. This involves the creation of campaigns such as the 'We are open' shop map- a directory of UK shops and small businesses that are still open and operating responsibly during COVID-19, and the Best Small Shops competition- a competition championing indie retailers showing innovation throughout the pandemic. Indie Retail are also temporarily providing free job advertisement to all retailers. 

The IRC believe that when it comes to saving the high street we are all in this together and that the future of the high street is dependent upon all indies surviving. In the most recent efforts to help the high street all IRC members are promoting a questionnaire to gather information on the experiences independent shops have been having with landlords and rent payments.

Many businesses across the high street have been struggling to pay their rents due to the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown. To date, the only action the Government has taken on this issue is the introduction of a voluntary Code of Practice for commercial landlords and tenants many retailers do not believe goes far enough.

With that in mind, the IRC have created the Independent Retailers Rent Survey. The survey should take less than 5 minutes and will help inform our lobbying with Government, provide us with an idea of what is happening across the market and bring some much needed media attention to the plight of indie businesses across the high street. All results are confidential and will not be shared except on an anonymised and aggregated basis.

Complete the Independent Retailers Rent Survey now  

The deadline for the survey is Friday 31 July.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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