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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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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.
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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…

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Leicester indie retailers defend ‘special’ city centre after M&S announces closure.

Posted on in Business News

Independent businesses in Leicester have praised the “uniqueness” of the city and its "vibrant" atmosphere after the news that M&S was set to close drew a raft of negative comments about the city centre. 

chocolate shop

Though M&S named changing shopping habits as the cause for its proposed closure, comments from others ranged from "too many vape and chicken shops" and "expensive" parking to harsher criticisms such as feeling “unsafe” because of "too many beggars and druggies" or that the city centre simply had "nothing" to attract shoppers.

But Leicester has a thriving independent sector with a wealth of "pretty special" small shops that many cities would envy.

Leicestershire Live asked indie shop owners what they believed the city had to offer and what improvements they would like to see. They praised Leicester's many unique shops and urged people to visit and support them.

Peter Gardner, owner of Cocoa Amore, said:

“There are pros and cons where you live everywhere. There are a lot of businesses here that are pretty special, and people ought to come and try them. We have such a problem in Leicestershire of not shouting up the good and whining about the bad. The positives outshout the negatives. If you speak to some of these coastal towns who have lost everything and are desolate - these business owners are campaigning just to get a bank on the high street. Here we have access to banks and help from the BID. We are so spoilt in how multicultural we are.

“I've never wanted to run a business anywhere else. Leicester is my city. I want to build a business that Leicester can be proud of. I want to be ethical and sustainable on our pricing and keep our prices affordable and for good value. When we look at our chocolates that come in from farmers all over the world, they should be more expensive than a bar of Dairy Milk on the high street.”

Edina Zoltai, manager at Just Fair Trade, which sells fairly traded gifts, homeware, toys and more next door to Coco Amore, said the city would benefit from more independent businesses to add to the many the city already boasts.

"We do have lots of uniqueness, and when you think of other cities, that is what we need more of," she said. “I think in this sector we can offer a much more personal and much nicer service than big chains. That’s why a higher percentage of our customers are regulars.”

Sisters Tracey Brewill and Juliet Hooper run Brides of Bond Street, a family-run business that has been around in the city for three decades.

Tracey said: “The one thing we hear from our customers is that they do not feel safe being here. It’s the begging and the drugs. I think it's more people wanting money off you. It can be intimidating.”

As the shop takes regular deliveries of dresses and gowns, lorries have to drive through the city centre to get to its delivery area. Juliet said: “The looks that you get from people and the animosity you get from people with it all being pedestrianised. There are not enough signs to say vehicles are passing on this road.”

However, the pair were adamant that independent shops can still thrive in the city. Tracey said: “We have to keep pushing the fact that there are some nice independents down here and try and get people to support independents. You have got to support the shops or there won’t be a high street.

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