{$inpagemarkup}

Search News

Results: 1-10 of 650


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.
Read more…

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.
Read more…

Economic growth surges to 0.7%, but "April reality check" looms for high street retailers

15 May 2025

UK economy delivers strongest quarterly performance in a year despite forecasts of business downturn.
Read more…

Communities come together for Local Bike Shop Day 2025 celebrations

13 May 2025

Local Bike Shop Day 2025 brought a wave of... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira welcomes Bank of England's latest interest rate cut

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has welcomed the Bank of England's decision to reduce interest rates from 4.5% to 4.25%, calling it a "much-needed boost" for the retail sector, including for cycling... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira responds to Beales' "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" as iconic store makes final protest

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has responded to the news that the 144-year-old Beales department store is staging a "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" in its final weeks of trading, with giant yellow... Read more…

Back to news menu

Shoplifting now among the most common crime against small firms

Posted on in Business News

Fresh evidence about the increasing problem of thefts from shops has been revealed amid a warning that organised shoplifting is now among the most common type of crimes against small firms.

Shoplifting

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said crimes such as organised shoplifting, drained more than £1,000 from over half of small business victims across England and Wales in the last two years.

One in 10 lost more than £10,000 according to new research by the FSB, which added that firms also faced cybercrime and fraud.

The report, based on a survey of 560 small businesses in England and Wales, also revealed a growing number of reports of organised shoplifting and threatening behaviour towards shop owners and their staff.

More than a third of respondents said they had been affected by at least one traditional crime in the last two years, including vandalism, anti-social behaviour, burglary or robbery.

Among a third of small business victims who reported the crime to the police, three in five said officers did not attend the scene and half believe the police did not investigate after the initial response. Only 3% said the police investigated and made an arrest.

Tina McKenzie of the FSB said: “We’ve been hearing countless reports of organised shoplifting over the past year, and our study further shows how serious and unprecedented the problem is.

“Witnessing our small high-street shops and independent businesses losing their hard-earned money because these crimes are overlooked by authorities is disheartening, not to mention the mental toll on small business owners and their staff.

“What’s more alarming is the explosive rise in cybercrime and fraud from the persistence of phishing emails to sophisticated invoice fraud.

“As more and more small businesses extend their operations to the virtual world, online services providers that hold personal and financial information must enhance their security measures.”

The report follows similar warnings about shoplifting from retailers and the shopworkers union Usdaw.

Back to news menu

Useful links

If you have any other queries please contact us.