Press Releases

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has given the Ofgem a flavour of the challenges faced by local shops, by taking the energy market regulator to see a number of convenience retailers to discuss how they interact with the energy market and to find ways they can help improve their experiences.

New figures from the Association of Convenience Stores have revealed that fewer than one in ten retailers are planning to invest in their business in the future, a record low.

When asked about their business plans in the quarterly Voice of Local Shops Survey, only 9% of independent retailers said they planned to invest in their stores over the coming year. This is the lowest level seen since the survey began in 2012 and a decline from 16% last May.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has submitted evidence to the Low Pay Commission as part of their consultation on future minimum wage rates, calling for the process to remain independent, evidence-based and free of political pressure.

Minimum wages are expected to reach the Low Pay Commission’s target of 60% of median earnings by 2020, a rate which is currently predicted to be £8.67 for the National Living Wage.  The Commission is currently consulting on its future remit post-2020.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed an announcement from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on changes to the frequency of business rates revaluations. The next revaluation, previously scheduled for 2022, will be brought forward to 2021, with revaluations taking place every three years thereafter instead of the current five year period.

The Cross-Party Group on Small Shops has called on the Government to focus on reforming the business rates system so that it encourages retailers to invest and improve their businesses during a meeting in the National Assembly for Wales today (June 5^th).

The meeting was attended by AMs, Welsh Government officials and independent retailers from across Wales, and heard from Rebecca Evans AM – Minister for Finance and Trefnydd on what the Welsh Government is doing to help small businesses with their rates bills.

The Government has received approval from the Supreme Court to appeal a £300 million court dispute over business rate bills for cash machines outside shops.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is set to challenge a ruling from the Court of Appeal which confirmed that through the wall ATMs should not be subject to a separate business rates assessment.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to a new report from the Resolution Foundation which examines the extent of low pay across the economy.

The ‘Low Pay Britain’ report notes that the number of low-paid workers across Britain fell by almost 200,000 last year, including over 130,000 women and 120,000 people aged 21-30 (despite under 25s not being legally entitled to the NLW).

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) welcomes launch of the Great British High Street (GBHS) Awards 2019. The Government-run awards, in partnership with Visa, celebrate the nation’s leading high streets and recognise local achievements.

Entries for the GBHS Awards 2019 opened today (23^rd May) and a selection of 40 shortlisted finalists will be chosen by an independent judging panel and are eligible to win up to £15,000 for their local community.

ACS has given evidence to the business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee outlining the challenges to the future of the Post Office Network and the convenience retailers that host them.

In a one-off evidence session of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee’s inquiry into the Post Office network, ACS urged the committee to consider the impact of increasing wage costs and changing consumer shopping habits.

New research from the University of Bristol has found that two thirds of the cash machines that have started to charge customers in Bristol are located in some of the area's most deprived communities.

The research found that bank branches and free cash machines were concentrated in the more affluent parts of Bristol, while more deprived areas only had access to machines that were not run by banks, many of which had begun charging since October 2018.