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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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Eight in Ten Small Businesses Taking Positive Steps to Strengthen Their Enterprises in 2024

Posted on in Business News

Eight in ten small business owners (81%) are planning to develop their companies in 2024, according to new research from Novuna Business Finance. The research shows that over a third (33%) are focusing on new initiatives to increase income, whilst a fifth (20%) are looking to reduce their fixed costs.

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With around nine in ten small businesses (89%) saying that they still feel the pressures from the cost-of-living crisis, there is an emphasis on increasing business income and sales this year across all sectors. Small businesses in the media and marketing sector were the most likely to say they are looking at new ways to improve their income and sales (52%), followed by small businesses in retail (42%) and IT and telecoms (40%).

 Nationally, the top five initiatives small business owners are focusing on to secure growth include: 

  • Increasing new business income/ sales – 33%
  • Reducing fixed costs – 20%
  • Diversifying the business, offering new service lines/ products – 18%
  • Planning ahead with business budgeting – 18%
  • Building up financial reserves – 17%

Across the UK, small businesses in the North East of England are the most likely to be prioritising particular strategies to strengthen their enterprise (89%), followed by small businesses in London (86%), and the South East (84%).

Rather than recruiting new employees, one in four (25%) hospitality and leisure businesses and over a fifth (23%) of manufacturing businesses are spending time investing in the people who already work at the company in the year ahead.

Top strategies used by small businesses to become stronger in 2024:

  • Increasing new business income/ sales – 33%
  • Reducing fixed costs – 20%
  • Diversifying the business, offering new service lines/ products – 18%
  • Planning ahead with business budgeting – 18%
  • Building up financial reserves – 17%
  • Advertising online to increase awareness or sales 14%
  • Spending time investing in the people that already work at the company – 13%
  • Invest more money in marketing the business to raise awareness of our brand and services – 11%
  • Expanding into new geographical markets – 10%
  • Not applicable – my business is not planning to prioritise anything in particular to make our business stronger – 19%

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