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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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Firms call for Government to reform business rates or risk a high street collapse

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News, Political News

The leaders of household names including Tesco, B&Q and Waterstones have warned the chancellor that the business rates burden on shops is putting thousands of high street jobs at risk, and called for online retailers to pay their "fair share" of tax.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak before next month's budget, the chief executives of 18 retail and property organisations, representing more than a million employees and tens of thousands of shops, say failing to overhaul the commercial equivalent of council tax will hamper the ability of high streets and town centres to recover from the pandemic.

The letter, which is also signed by the bosses of Asda and Morrisons as well as members of the Independent Retailers Confederation (IRC), says the current system is "not sustainable in the long term and without reform, shops at the heart of communities will be at risk".

The letter makes the following specific recommendations:

  1. Reducing the business rates multiplier: The multiplier has risen from 35% in 1990 to more than 50% today. It should be significantly reduced, focusing on a level closer to the original rate of around 35% of the market rent. This would make the UK more competitive and show the Government is backing British shops.
  2. Level the playing field on tax: Currently online retailers pay a lower proportion of tax per sale than bricks and mortar retailers. We urge the Government to rebalance the tax base to ensure online and bricks and mortar retailers pay a similar proportion of tax and we welcome the consideration of viable options in the Government's ‘fundamental' review.

Ther letter urges Sunak "to use the upcoming budget to commit to fundamental reform of business rates focused on reducing the burden on retailers and levelling the playing field between bricks and mortar and online businesses". 

The letter comes as the Treasury explores options for an online sales tax in response to the explosion in internet shopping since the pandemic to help stem the collapse of the high street.

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