Category: Retail & Hospitality
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Why banks are turning into cafes — and why the coffee isn’t the lesson
Banks are swapping teller counters for sofas and coffee machines, and it’s tempting to read this as proof that “experience” beats “efficiency” for any business. It doesn’t — and the difference matters if you’re running a shop, salon or office and wondering whether a cosier space is the answer to falling footfall. A cafe bolted…
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Zero-hours reform will hurt the workers it’s meant to protect
The government’s own impact assessment for the Employment Rights Act 2025 puts a number on ending zero-hours contracts: around £3bn a year in extra cost to business, once the new guaranteed-hours rules take effect from around January 2027. On the same day, separate research found that 72% of workers currently on flexible arrangements say their…
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What the 2026 Business Rates Changes Mean for Pubs and Restaurants
Hospitality businesses have had a bumpy ride with business rates this year. A major revaluation landed in April 2026, reliefs shifted, and the government has already had to step in twice with extra support after an outcry from the trade. Here’s where things actually stand. The revaluation shock Every few years, the Valuation Office Agency…