Business - Neighbourhood Retailer

Retailers welcome Kwarteng budget but warn business rates holiday is vital

Linda Stewart — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 11:22:36 +0000

Retailers in Northern Ireland have welcomed the reversal of the National Insurance increase announced in Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s Mini Budget but warned that a business rates holiday is urgently needed to save high street businesses.

The Chancellor announced that the recent rise in National Insurance tax would be reversed from 6 November and the planned rise in corporation tax from 19% to 25% has been cancelled.

VAT-free shopping for overseas visitors will be brought in and planned increases on alcohol have been cancelled.

New low tax investment zones will be set up in England where tax cuts and liberalised planning rules to be offered to release land for housing and commercial use.

Reacting to the Chancellors statement, Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said: “We welcome that the Government is to reverse the National Insurance increase which will provide some relief to local independent retailers who are struggling with the cost of business crisis.

“Retail NI will engage with the Secretary of State for NI on how the Investment Zone proposals could apply to Northern Ireland, particularly in town and city centres that have high levels of dereliction and are in need of further support.

”We are disappointed that no funding assistance from Treasury has been allocated to allow a business rates holiday to be introduced locally. If we are to stand any chance of saving local high street businesses and protecting jobs, it is vital that a rates holiday is urgently introduced.

“Lowering VAT rates should also have been included in this statement, rather than focusing on stamp duty and corporation tax.

“The UK Government needs to go a lot further in supporting our local high streets and we will continue to press for further measures.”

Ann McGregor, Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry said businesses would welcome the Chancellor’s pledge to focus on economic growth.

“Inevitably, the devil will be in the detail of these proposals, but they must strike the right balance between tackling immediate pressures, driving reform and providing for a sustainable future,” she said.

“Moves to target certain business costs, including reversing plans to increase corporation tax and national insurance are welcome interventions at a time of critical need. Reversing the planned increase in corporation tax will be crucial for local firms competing on the island of Ireland in particular.

“But today’s announcement just underlines the need for a restored Executive to respond in parallel to protect businesses and unlock sustainable growth locally.

“We need an Executive that can take urgent action on priority issues like reforming business rates, tackling the productivity gap and transforming the planning system to enable green growth. That, combined with resolution on the NI Protocol will help restore much needed business confidence.”

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Belfast bakery closes over spiralling food prices

Linda Stewart — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 09:33:38 +0000

The owners of a west Belfast bakery say “crazy food prices” and increases in bills are responsible for the decision to close its doors after four years.

The owners of Tuckers Bakery and Deli, based on the Falls Road, said it had been a “very hard decision” to close and described being “truly heart broken”.

“Guys its with a heavy heart we write this post, but unfortunately due to the rising price increases in bills and crazy food prices we have decided to close our doors permanently,” they wrote on social media.

“It has been a very hard decision for us as a family run business and we are truly heart broken, but unfortunately with Covid and crazy price increases, it’s just not sustainable anymore to keep going.

“We have met some fantastic people over the years and we would like to thank every customer from the bottom of our hearts for their support and custom over the last 4 years.

“We will hopefully be back in the near future when things settle for hospitality. We honestly don’t know what more to say but thank you all so much. Much love Nicola and Dale.”

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CBI appoints SHS chief Elaine Birchall as regional chair

Linda Stewart — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 11:23:40 +0000

SHS chief executive Elaine Birchall is taking over as chair of CBI Northern Ireland.

She succeeds banker Adrian Doran, who will now assume the post of vice-chair until the end of this year.

Elaine joined SHS Group as chief executive in 2015 and has overseen a growth in turnover to £655 million, with the group now employing more than 1,200 people in the UK and Ireland.

SHS distributes a wide portfolio of consumer brands, including Shloer, WKD, Sunny Jim, bottlegreen and Meridian.

Before joining the consumer goods giant, Elaine held management and leadership roles in Europe, the USA and South Pacific for Colgate Palmolive.

She previously led PZ Cussons UK as managing director and managed operations in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya as area director for PZ Cussons Africa.

Elaine has served as CBI NI vice chair since January 2021 and formerly held a three-year term as a member of the CBI Northern Ireland Council. A board member of Business in the Community, in 2018 she claimed the Outstanding Business Woman of the Year accolade at the NI Women in Business Awards.

In June last year, Elaine was awarded an MBE as part of the Queen’s birthday honours list for services to economic development in Northern Ireland.

CBI NI director Angela McGowan said: “A massive congratulations to Elaine. She brings an abundance of professional experience at such a critical time for local businesses – who are looking to lift their gaze beyond the pandemic, move beyond the cost-of-living crisis, and ensure lasting economy recovery takes hold.

“Elaine’s experience in diverse international markets and strong member insight will be invaluable in the CBI’s mission to represent the views of businesses of all shapes and sizes to policy-makers.

“I also express our sincere gratitude to Adrian Doran for his leadership over the past two and a half years. As we navigate one of the most challenging periods in memory, his thoughtfulness, wisdom and verve have been essential.”

Elaine Birchall said: “There is such a wealth of talent, and enterprise in Northern Ireland and, by speaking with one voice, businesses can continue to optimise and influence outcomes for our society. I am committed to ensuring CBI continues to play an integral role in creating a thriving economy to benefit everyone.

“Throughout the pandemic, the CBI has led the way in terms of working with business and government to support companies.

“We will continue to act as an agent of change as we look at investment in innovation, skills and sustainability. These are the foundations on which we can build a competitive, dynamic, future-focused Northern Ireland economy for the decade ahead.”

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Derry/Londonderry shortlisted in Top Towns for Business contest

Linda Stewart — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 10:29:16 +0000

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Alderman Graham Warke, has encouraged members of the public to get their online votes in after the City was named as a finalist in a competition of best UK locations for business.

The UK’s Top Towns for Business competition is being run by Enterprise Nation, the small business network and business support provider, in partnership with Dell UK and aims to shine a spotlight on the UK’s towns and cities that successfully nurture entrepreneurial spirit in order to make a lasting impact on local communities and the economy.

Locations across the UK are judged on a variety of different business-related sectors including connectivity, dedicated space, retail space, networks and leadership, and Derry is amongst the nominees which are now being put out to a public vote.

Mayor Warke said it was fantastic to be amongst the locations shortlisted and asked everyone to get their votes in.

“We are absolutely delighted to be recognised in this way as part of the UK’s Top Towns for Business and it would be even better news now if we could make that final step and take the top spot. This is a great opportunity to receive national recognition for our City and District, and for the fantastic work that is being done to support businesses and entrepreneurship by all involved.

“The voting is open until April 17^th so I would appeal to everyone to take 30 seconds out to log on to the website and get your vote in!”

Everyone who places a vote will be entered into a prize draw to win a £200 Not on The High Street voucher.

To vote for Derry/Londonderry in the UK’s Top Towns for Business competition, visit https://bit.ly/TopTownsVote.

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Falsely convicted postal workers must be ‘fully compensated’, says MP committee

Linda Stewart — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 10:15:20 +0000

The Post Office and the government need to speed up compensation payments to workers who were victims of the Horizon IT scandal,a report by an influential group of MPs has advised.

MPs from Parliament’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee have expressed concerns about the time taken to make settlements to former Post Office operators who were wrongfully convicted as a result of errors in the company’s computer accounting system.

They have warned that compensation needs to be concluded urgently, as many of the former Post Office workers affected by the long-running scandal are elderly, some have already died while awaiting redress, while others remain at risk of losing their homes.

The committee began holding hearings in 2020 about the Horizon IT scandal, one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British legal history, and has now published an interim report. The committee has paused its hearings as the public inquiry into the scandal has got under way.

Between 2000 and 2014, the Post Office prosecuted 736 post office operators – an average of one a week – based on information from the Horizon IT system, which was installed and maintained by Fujitsu.

A group of 555 former workers won a high court battle against the Post Office in December 2019, when a high court judge ruled that Horizon’s system contained a number of “bugs, errors and defects” and there was a “material risk” that shortfalls in Post Office branch accounts were caused by the system.

Dozens of former Post Office workers have since had their convictions for theft, fraud and false accounting quashed by the court of appeal.

Some of the convicted workers were sent to prison, others lost their livelihoods and their homes. Many went bankrupt, and some died before their names were cleared.

The group of 555 who brought the legal action were awarded £57.75m, but the vast majority (£46m) was swallowed up in legal costs, leaving only about £20,000 in compensation for each person, which MPs said the victims view as “inadequate”.

At the time of the high court verdict, the government decided this group could not apply for compensation through another scheme, known as the historical shortfall scheme (HSS).

The MPs condemned how this had led to the “perverse situation” that workers who were part of the legal action faced receiving less compensation than others.

“It is clearly entirely unacceptable that the group of 555 victims who first brought this scandal successfully to court are being left in a worse position than those who are being compensated thanks to their action,” said Darren Jones, chair of the committee.

“There is no valid reason to exclude the 555 from being fully compensated and the chancellor must come forward with the required funding now.”

The MPs expressed concern that over 570 sub-postmasters who were wrongly convicted as a result of Horizon have not yet come forward to begin the process of overturning their convictions, despite attempts by the Post Office to contact them.

They are calling on the government to create an independent body to serve as a “trusted first point of contact” for those who were wrongly convicted.

The Post Office has previously said it cannot afford to foot the huge clean-up bill for the scandal and the government, the service’s only shareholder, has confirmed the taxpayer would step in.

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