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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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Bakers showing resilience despite cost pressures

Posted on in Business News

bakeryBritain’s bakers are showing great resilience despite continued cost and operational pressures, according to industry groups.

While some bakeries have been forced to shut down in the face of soaring input costs, trade bodies say the number that have ceased trading has not been higher than usual.

“Fortunately, we currently only have a limited number of members reporting closures across both small operators and those with multiple shops and wholesale customers,” explained Karen Dear, director of operations at the Craft Bakers Association.

Her views were echoed by Scottish Bakers, which said it had not seen a spike in bakery closures and that its membership remained stable.

“The energy relief scheme in place over the Christmas period and running to the end of March provided a much-needed cushion for our members facing massive rises in their gas and electricity bills,” said Scottish Bakers CEO Alasdair Smith.

But the industry remains concerned about the immediate future and particularly about the replacement of the current energy relief scheme with the energy bills discount scheme in April.

“There is little clarity on how the most recent energy support scheme will be implemented and until the scheme has been in place for at least a month, we will be unsure of how this will impact business’ energy bills,” said Dear.

Scottish Bakers has estimated that the new scheme will cause gas prices for its members to rise by a minimum of 32% and electricity by a minimum of 12%. It fears that, together with continued commodity prices increases, some businesses will be pushed to consider closure.

Pointing to the closures that have already been seen, Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young added: “With popular bakeries unable to make it when the energy bill relief scheme was in place, we’re really worried what’s going to happen after the first of April.”

“Costs of energy, ingredients and more on one side of the counter are forcing bakers to raise prices, at exactly the same time that costs of everything on the other side mean customers are reducing how much they spend and how often.”

The CBA added that it is also concerned about bakers in contracts with energy companies at a higher rate than they previously had.

“As their contracts ran out during the height of the crisis, they are still now tied into these contracts,” said Dear. “We want the government to look at this and work with the energy companies and small businesses to either get the current cost they are paying back in line with the cost now or allow the business to break contract and re-negotiate.”

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