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Bira warns of 'troubled times ahead' despite interest rate cut

7 Feb 2025

ACT parent company Bira has warned that retailers across Britain face troubled times ahead despite today's Bank of England interest rate cut to 4.5%, as the Bank halves its growth forecast for... Read more…

Free webinar exclusive to ACT members on employment law compliance

4 Feb 2025

The ACT and legal partner WorkNest are hosting an exclusive webinar on how to remain compliant with employment law while making necessary business changes.
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ACT parent company Bira urges Government action as December sales disappoint

23 Jan 2025

ACT parent company Bira is calling for urgent government intervention following disappointing December retail figures, which show sales volumes fell by 0.3% following a modest 0.1% rise in... Read more…

ACT announces new partnership with legal specialists WorkNest

17 Jan 2025

The ACT has teamed up with employment law, HR, and health and safety experts WorkNest as the association's new legal partner.
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Bira comments after BRC release Sensormatic IQ Footfall Monitor Report for December

9 Jan 2025

ACT parent company Bira has warned that disappointing footfall figures for December show mounting pressures on independent retailers, with concerning implications for 2025 as business costs... Read more…

2024 year in review: A message from ACT Director Jonathan Harrison

18 Dec 2024

Director of the ACT Jonathan Harrison has praised the "resilience and adaptability" of the ACT and its members in an end of year message.
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Practical steps to prevent credit card and payment fraud as an independent cycling retailer

4 Dec 2024

As credit card fraud becomes increasingly sophisticated, taking these steps could help you stay ahead of the fraudsters…
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Scottish retailers call for urgent business rates support as gap widens with rest of UK

29 Nov 2024

Scottish independent retailers, including those in the cycling sector, are urging the Scottish Government to provide crucial business rates relief in its upcoming budget, as the disparity in... Read more…

Bira and ACT welcome new House of Lords report on high street regeneration

28 Nov 2024

Independent retailers back call for local leadership and simplified funding.
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Seven-in-ten cycle traders boycott Black Friday as cost pressures mount

26 Nov 2024

Seven in ten cycle retailers across the UK will boycott this year's Black Friday sales event, according to a survey of the bicycle trade by the ACT.
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Welsh Government Announce £20m Future Proofing Fund for Retail Businesses in Wales

Posted on in Business News

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to discuss the coming availability of a £20m Future Proofing Fund to help businesses to strengthen their profitability through investment in their business.

welsh Deagon


Available to retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 will be awarded to cover up to 75% of project costs or £10,000, whichever is the lesser amount and it is expected that businesses will fund the remaining 25% from other sources.

The fund will be available for eligible businesses in Wales, either headquartered or having an operating address in Wales, who employ people in Wales.

In a recent press release from Gov.wales, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said:

“The ongoing cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business crises continues to present difficulties to businesses across Wales.

These grants will help micro, small and medium sized businesses from the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors to make some significant changes in the way they run their operations so they can adapt for the future.”

The final details and criteria of the funding are being agreed at this moment and we will share complete details as soon as we see them.

There will be an eligibility checker opened on the Gov.wales website in mid-April 2024 and applications will open in May 2024.

It's important to note that the application window will remain open for just 3 weeks or until the fund has been exhausted.   It will therefore be vital that businesses act quickly to work out projects and to collate the necessary evidence and data required, ready for the application window in May.

Our understanding is that projects will be assessed towards the end of Spring 24, and successful businesses will be announced around August 2024.

Any funded projects must be delivered and claimed for by the end of the financial year.

“This £20m fund is a great opportunity for businesses in Wales, but it’s important to note that it will only extend to 2,000, maybe 2,500 businesses, so it’s imperative that you keep a close eye on the timeframes involved and act quickly once the eligibility checker and the subsequent application window opens up.” said John Halliday, Bira’s Director of Marketing.

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