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Get ready to celebrate independent Record Store Day

18 Apr 2024

Independent record stores around the country are preparing to celebrate all things vinyl for this year’s Record Store Day on Saturday April 20th. 
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Indies encouraged to put themselves forward for Retail Business of the Year award.

18 Apr 2024

BIRA, the British Independent Retailers Association, has announced its partnership with this year’s SME National Business Awards., joining the 2024 awards as a leading sponsor, backing... Read more…

Family-run Polesworth fish and chip shop celebrates 40 years in business with half-price chips.

18 Apr 2024

A Midlands fish and chip shop is celebrating 40 years in business and offering half-price chips to mark the milestone.
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Assault of shop workers to be made specific criminal offence

18 Apr 2024

Assaulting a shop worker is to be made a separate criminal offence in England and Wales as part of a government response to a wave of retail crime. 
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New stores helping Cardiff arcades buck retail trends.

18 Apr 2024

Eleven new businesses that have opened in the last year in the historic arcades of Cardiff city centre’s Morgan Quarter, made up of the Morgan and Royal arcades, have helped the arcades... Read more…

Study highlights impact of rising staff costs for convenience retailers.

3 Apr 2024

Research by the University of Stirling and the Scottish Grocers’ Federation has shed light on the impact of rising staff costs on the convenience retail sector in Scotland.
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Independent department stores hitting a sweet spot on local high streets.

3 Apr 2024

With large national chains increasingly disappearing from the high street, Drapers magazine has been looking at how independent department stores are stepping up their offerings to... Read more…

Entries open for 2024 Baking Industry Awards

2 Apr 2024

The Baking Industry Awards return for their 37th year and are once again ready to recognise and reward the very best people, products, and businesses in the sector. The awards showcase the... Read more…

Family-owned cycle shop celebrates 90 years trading in Walsall.

2 Apr 2024

Walsall's cycling community has been celebrating a family-owned business which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
 
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Payment-processing outages at UK retailers raise reliability issues for cashless transactions.

2 Apr 2024

Recent payment disruptions at supermarkets and fast-food outlets have raised questions on the need for improved reliability.
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The campaign calling on the government to #RaiseTheBar

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News, Political News

Tens of thousands of shops, pubs, clubs, restaurants, hotels and leisure businesses on our High Streets, town centres and in our communities are currently unable to access Government grants putting millions of jobs at risk.

#RaiseTheBar are campaigning for the government to increase the threshold from £51,000 to £150,000 and save tens of thousands of businesses from going under by allowing more businesses the opportunity to access the £25,000 grant.

The #RaiseTheBar campaign believes access to the £25,000 is the difference between survival and bankruptcy for businesses on High Streets across England and Wales, which have welcomed an outpouring of support from the public during
lockdown choosing to support their local communities.

The grant will enable businesses to mitigate significant stock losses and cashflow challenges, including rent, that wage subsidies do not address. Many businesses are not in a position to take on further debt or have serious misgivings about being able to survive the recovery and service loans. Other cash pressures include suppliers, service charges and the cost of re-opening to repurchase stock and ongoing running costs.

Matthew Sims, CEO, Croydon BID and co-founder of #RaiseTheBar campaign said, "Access to the RHLG grant is a ticking time bomb for tens of thousands of businesses on our High Streets and in our local communities. There are just eight weeks until rent is due and the prospect of going under is an uncomfortable truth the Government needs to hear and act upon now. The consequences of failing to increase the business rates threshold are too grim to bear." 

The #RaiseTheBar campaign launched a Change.org petition on Thursday 23 April and is calling on the public to sign the petition to help save the nation's High Streets. The petition needs to reach 10,000 signatures to be recognised by Government and has just over 1,000 signatures remaining to achieve this goal. 

Find out more about the #RaiseTheBar campaign and how you can help by visiting raisethebarcampaign.com.

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