Business Rates

Sunday trading law proposals defeated

Following the failure of the government’s proposals for Sunday trading hours to be relaxed, experts feel it is now time to reform the High Street in order to help it every day of the week. The Chancellor announced a “full review of the structure of business rates”  fifteen months ago…

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Sales sink for independent shops

Independent shops sales sunk following warm weather and flooding at the end of 2015, according to BIRA. An eighteen month run of rising sales for Britain’s small shops came to an end in the last quarter of 2015. This was also noticed by the ONS, as unseasonably warm weather, flooding,…

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Business rates regime discarded in overhaul

Chancellor George Osborne has announced a major transformation by scrapping uniform business rates. Plans announced during the Autumn Statement today will see the unpopular regime abolished in favour of letting councils decide whether to cut rates. This will ultimately leave more power in the hands of councils providing competition and…

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‘Lethal combination’ for UK retailers, says Tesco boss

Story by Michael Northcott The chief executive of Tesco, Dave Lewis, has warned that the UK retail sector is facing a “lethal cocktail” of rising costs. Speaking at the CBI’s annual conference, Lewis said rising business rates and the National Living Wage (introduced by George Osborne earlier this year) mean…

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Business rate system to have major overhaul

George Osborne has announced a huge overhaul for the UK’s business rate system which should aid retailers and small business owners. It was announced that £26 billion which is raised in business rates each year will be diverted from central government to local government. According to the BBC, chancellor George…

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Pets Corner releases plans for a new hub

Pets Corner is in conversation with Mid Sussex District Council officers, who are working on the town plan, to designate Northlands Farm, Hickstead, for commercial use =. Its change of use would mean that Pets Corner, as well as other high profile employers, could remain in Mid Sussex, benefiting the…

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Retail business running costs up £20bn since 2006

A British Retail Consortium (BRC) commissioned study by Oxford Economics has revealed that retailers’ operating costs have increased by a fifth since 2006. BRC’s new pre-budget research has seen the association call on the Chancellor, George Osborne, to maintain retailers’ contribution to the country by reducing business costs and re-building…

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Data shows rise in retail employment despite record decline in shop numbers

Retail employment was shown to have risen by 0.6 per cent in the BRC-Bond Pearce Retail Employment Monitor (REM) for the fourth quarter of 2012. Despite the number of retail outlets falling by 3.6 per cent during the quarter, the fastest rate since the REM began in October 2008, retail…

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BRC and retailers ask MPs to step-in to help ailing high streets

In the wake of the news that town centre shop vacancy rates have reached an all-time high of 11.3 per cent, retailers have joined with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) to get MPs behind their plans. The BRC is now asking MPs to prioritise reinvigorating their local high streets, which,…

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Starbucks pays up but business rates will still rise

Starbucks’ acceptance to pay increased corporation tax has done little to soften the news that business rates will not be frozen next year, as announced by the chancellor. George Osborne’s Autumn Statement dealt another blow to retailers and small businesses as he overlooked pleas to freeze business rates, despite much…

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