Business Rates
This coverage examines business rates policy and its implications for the UK retail sector. Reporting focuses on government decisions, reforms, rate relief measures, and their impact on store operations, profitability, and investment decisions. Tailored for retail executives and managers, it provides analysis to help navigate costs, advocate for change, and plan effectively in response to fiscal pressures.
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May- 2022 -4 MayHigh Street
Retail Jobs Alliance demands business rates reform
An alliance of retail companies including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Greggs and Waterstones are forging a new coalition to urge Rishi Sunak to move ahead with reforms to Britain’s decades-old business rates regime, according to Sky News. The group, which is calling itself the Retail Jobs Alliance, has written to the chancellor…
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Apr- 2022 -29 AprilPeople Moves
New West End Company CEO to step down
New West End Company CEO Jace Tyrrell is set to step down from his role this October, after six years at the head of the group, as he returns to his native Australia to lead its first Business Improvement District – The New Sydney Waterfront Company. According to the group,…
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20 AprilNews
Retailers indicate ‘overwhelming support’ for online sales tax
Retailers have given “overwhelming support” to the introduction of a form of online sales tax to take the pressure off business rates, according to a recent snap survey by Colliers. It revealed 89% of respondents were in favour of the new tax with only 11% in disagreement. The survey was…
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Mar- 2022 -24 MarchHigh Street
High streets face £3bn rates rise on 1 April
Retail, leisure and hospitality businesses in England are facing a “dangerous cost of doing business crisis”, according to real estate adviser Altus Group, as the government presses ahead with its £3.1bn business rates rise on 1 April. Analysis by Altus Group, following yesterday’s (23 March) Spring Statement, shows councils in…
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23 MarchEconomy
Spring Statement: Chancellor raises NI threshold to £12,570
The chancellor has outlined a series of measures to help combat the rising cost of living in his latest spring statement, including increasing the national insurance threshold by £3,000. Speaking in parliament today (23 March), Rishi Sunak began his speech by warning it is yet unclear what the impact of…
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16 MarchHigh Street
Retail sales monitor shows ‘cause for optimism’, Bira says
The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has said there is “cause for optimism” after the recent BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor for February 2022 which revealed that UK retail sales increased 2.7% on a Like-for-like basis from February 2021. According to the BRC the performance comes on top of an improved…
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Feb- 2022 -21 FebruaryEconomy
Bira welcomes sales rise, but warns ‘all is not well’
The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has said it is “pleased to see a rise in retail sales”, but warned retailers against “falling into the trap of thinking all is well”. It was commenting on the recently released figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the UK retail…
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18 FebruaryCoronavirus
135,000 retail jobs lost amid pandemic
Almost 135,000 traditional retail jobs were lost during the course of the pandemic, according to an analysis of figures from trade union GMB. It found that in 2019, there were an estimated 1.2 million sales and retail assistants, retail cashiers and check-out operators in the UK. By 2021, however, this…
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18 FebruaryNews
Retail sales up 1.9% in January 2022
Retail sales volumes rose by 1.9% in January 2022 following a fall of 4.0% in December 2021, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. It also revealed sales volumes were 3.6% above their pre-coronavirus (Covid-19) February 2020 levels. Non-food stores sales rose by 3.4% as home…
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Jan- 2022 -28 JanuaryHigh Street
Store vacancy rate improves for first time since 2018
New research has found the number of vacant stores has decreased for the first time since 2018, according to the latest BRC-LDC Vacancy Monitor. In Q4, the GB store vacancy rate fell to 14.4%, 0.1 percentage points below the Q3 level. Shopping Centre vacancies improved to 19.1% for Q4, a…
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