Government on Wednesday (24) launched a new online training course filled with practical advice and resources for small business leaders.
"Help to Grow: Management Essentials" is a short online course with practical tips and resources for small business leaders. Based on the 12-week, it is suited for leaders of newer or smaller SMEs, or those who are looking to explore the principles of business growth and management before taking the next step and enrolling in the full course.
Small businesses are a vital part of local economies across the UK and supporting them is crucial to delivering on the Prime Minister’s priority to grow the economy. This course will support SME leaders to establish their roots as they look ahead to scale up and grow their business.
Essentials is the latest addition to the extensive package of SME support announced by Government as part of the ‘Help to Grow’ campaign: a one-stop shop for SMEs. The Help to Grow site makes it quicker and easier for business owners to find the resources they need for every step of their growth journey from across government.
Small Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said, "I’ve met so many business owners who have benefited from Help to Grow: Management, and now with the launch of Help to Grow: Management Essentials even more business people will be able to access the advice and resources they need to scale up and grow."
2024 is the year of the SME and whether it’s through access to finance, support and advice, or removing barriers to growth: we’re helping them go further than ever before. Help to Grow: Management Essentials is free, with content divided into three easy-to-access modules consisting of short videos and supporting resources covering the essential business concepts required to unlock growth. Business leaders can access the course through the Help to Grow website.
Byron Dixon, founder of Micro Fresh said, "These Help to Grow: Management Essentials videos are jam-packed with inspiration and practical tips for small business leaders. I wish I’d had this type of resource available to me when I was scaling my business."
Michael Hayman, MBE, Chair of the Small Business Charter said, "Designed by the experts at Small Business Charter accredited business schools, the Help to Grow: Management Essentials Course will provide new opportunities for smaller firms to unlock their business potential."
Enterprise Nation Founder and CEO, Emma Jones CBE, said, "As a delivery partner on the Help to Grow: Management course, we see the positive impact this initiative has on small business confidence and productivity every day. One thing that stands out is the value that working one-to-one with a matched mentor can have, bringing the lessons learned on the course alive in a very practical setting."
In 2024, the year of the SME, Government will continue to support and engage small businesses, reaffirming their role as the engines of our economy and the beating heart of local communities and today’s launch builds on a raft of measures designed to help them meet their full potential.
Earlier this year at the first SME focused Business Connect event, the Prime Minister announced £60 million new investment to enable up to 20,000 more apprenticeships, slashing unnecessary regulatory burdens through Brexit freedoms saving around £150 million per year for thousands of small businesses, as well as the launch of the Investing in Women Taskforce to boost private investment in women-led businesses and make the UK the best place in the world to be a female founder.
Lidl said its sales exceeded £1billion in the four weeks up to 24 December for the first time, as the discounter celebrated its most successful Christmas yet.
Lidl added that it increased its British supply base by 20 per cent this holiday season, stocking its shelves with locally-sourced festive favourites at the lowest prices. Over 16 million British pigs in blankets were sold, including new Deluxe flavours such as maple, cheese, and cranberry. British turkeys proved again to be the festive staple, with one sold every second, while three quarters of a roasting joints were enjoyed across the country.
Lidl Plus grew its user base by over a quarter year-on-year, with 75 per cent more customers taking advantage of its weekly discounts. In December, Lidl also brought festive cheer with its Advent Calendar campaign, which saw more than 1 million customers engage daily for surprises and promotions.
Lidl’s partnership with Neighbourly saw around 1.25 million meals being donated in December, while the supermarket provided £125,000 in festive grants to local charities, helping bring Christmas magic to those who needed it most. Additionally, Lidl’s nationwide Toy Bank scheme invited customers to donate toys to children who might otherwise go without, resulting in almost 100,000 toys being distributed as Christmas presents.
“For three decades, Lidl has been providing households with access to unbeatable quality and value at Christmas. This year, we were thrilled to welcome more customers than ever before. That’s a strong reflection of the trust our customers place in us and the dedication of our colleagues and suppliers, who work so hard to deliver an outstanding Christmas for the communities we serve,” Ryan McDonnell, chief executive at Lidl GB, said.
“In 2024, we continued to raise the bar with product innovation, especially within our Deluxe range, as well as supporting all the community initiatives that are deeply important to us. It’s all been about bringing people together and sharing the joy of Christmas.
“Looking ahead, we’re excited to build on our momentum, growing our presence across the country and continuing to deliver the highest quality at the best prices on the market.”
This update comes after Lidl revealed it experienced the highest growth in customer visits of any supermarket last year, as part of its FY23 results.
Co-op today (2) revealed its commitment to continued convenience growth with a planned 75 new stores opening this year across the UK.
The new stores will be both Co-op estate stores and Co-op franchise stores, a sector the convenience retailer has actively pursued recently with strong growth.
Co-op’s plans for new stores in 2025 include up to 25 new Co-op operated stores – with the first new Co-op stores to open in early 2025 in Salford Quays – The Anchorage and East Benton – Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Furthermore, up to 50 stores are expected to open and operate as a franchise this year, enabling Co-op to bring its products and the benefits of membership to more communities, and operate in locations where it may not otherwise be able to access.
The move builds on franchise growth in 2024 which included innovative new locations where Co-op shares its convenience expertise with quality partners.
Last year saw Co-op franchise stores open on more university campus; a first for Co-op with a store opening in a hospital, on petrol forecourts (in partnership with EG On The Move), plus a Co-op store at HMS Collingwood (in partnership with ESS) to enhance the lived experience of service personnel.
Up to an additional 80 existing stores will also undertake major refurbishments in 2025, maximising the potential of Co-op’s existing portfolio of properties to serve and support communities, and creating stores which are fit for the future while ensuring Co-op maintains a store in every postal area.
Matt Hood, Co-op’s Managing Director said: “We want everyone to have easy and convenient access to a Co-op store, wherever they live, and this year we are completely focused on achieving that through an ambitious and exciting new stores strategy.
"Not only are we a membership organisation owned by our six million members, we are experts in convenience shopping, where we combine great quality products, value and deals and ethical retailing with quick online delivery services, community participation and additional customer services.
"Our stores play an active role in local life, and are often a community hub, providing the products and services our members and customers want and need.”
Co-op is working to grow its share of the quick commerce market to over 30 per cent by focusing on both its own Co-op platform and with its partners including Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo. Co-op has been named top grocer across all major delivery platforms, and stores in more communities will further support ecommerce reach and growth.
Plus, as part of Co-op’s commitments to carbon reduction, it has announced ambitions to install up to 76,000 solar panels on up to 700 of its sites across its food, funeral care and logistic portfolio over the next three years.
Co-op is on track to achieve its ambition of growing to eight million members by 2030, with new stores bringing the benefits of membership, including member savings, to more local communities.
A leading retailer of a family-run convenience store, operating since 1937, has been left with significant financial losses, deep trauma and emotional strain following an ugly incident of ram-raid that left the store completely damaged.
Early last Friday (27), five individuals smashed through the front doors of Spar Minster Lovell near Witney in Oxfordshire and used a vehicle to pull an ATM machine through the premises, causing extensive damage to the shop’s infrastructure and stock.
Retailer Ian Lewis, the store owner, recounted the incident to Asian Trader, describing how five individuals used a sledgehammer to break through the front doors before strapping the store's ATM to a vehicle and dragging it through the store.
Lewis told Asian Trader, “Last Friday morning, five males sledgehammered through the front doors and quickly strapped the cash machine to the back of one vehicle and then proceeded to pull it.
“The cash machine is at the back of the store. It was pulled and dragged right through the chiller and ambient area, causing extensive damage to the store, chiller doors and, stock.
“The culprits then took away with the cash machine. They couldn't get into the first vehicle, so they had to use a second one.”
At the time of this conversation, Lewis was waiting for the insurance company to visit. However, he suspects the damage to reach tens of thousands of pounds.
He said, “The automatic doors of the store were replaced recently on Dec 17, after the last break in that happened in September. We haven't even paid that bill fully and the doors are now completely damaged. This is over and above all the damage that the store sustained.
"Since the machine was at the back, almost the whole store has been shattered since it was pulled and dragged through, breaking everything that came on the way."
The impact goes beyond the financial burden, with Lewis expressing concern for his elderly parents, who live above the store and have been left deeply shaken.
He said, “But the worst thing here is that my elderly parents live above the store. They are still shaken and heartbroken. Its been a very traumatic week for us as a family. I can't believe it's nearly a week already; its pretty devastating.”
Lewis is also concerned over the mental health of early morning staff.
"It's been a very difficult time for everyone here. We've obviously got early morning staff that come in who are worried now. I am more worried about the safety of my parents who live a floor above.
“I am not able to sleep properly, nor my sister. The whole incident is taking a huge toll on us mentally and physically.”
The police is investigating the case and according to Lewis, has been quite proactive in this matter.
“The police has recovered both vehicles. They are confident that they have got a lead and something to work with. The police have been pretty proactive so hopefully we'll get something, and hopefully the offenders will be caught and brought to justice.”
The fourth generation family business, opened in 1937, has been targeted second time in four months. Earlier in September last year, a group of four masked men were caught on store's camera trying to break in the store before they cut the CCTV connection.
Lewis believes that the cash machine was the target at that time too though they couldn’t get through so they gave up and left.
“The police could not find anything so they actually closed that case. It is still not sure whether the two cases are linked.
“May be because they just could not get through last time so they came back again better prepared or may be it is a completely separate incident and not the same men," he said.
The rise in ram-raids targeting convenience stores with ATM machines is a growing concern across the sector. For Lewis, the repeated attacks have led to serious doubts about keeping an ATM in the store.
Lewis wrote on a social media platform, "Seeing the damage to the shop—our family business—and knowing my parents were upstairs during the break-in is something I’ll never forget. The voicemail I received from my dad yesterday morning, filled with fear and distress, will stay with me forever.
"This is the second time we’ve been targeted in just three months, and the damage this time is far more extensive. While we’re still processing the impact, one thing we are incredibly grateful for is the overwhelming support we’ve received.
"To our local community, your messages, visits, and offers of help have meant the world to us. Knowing how much this shop means to all of you gives us the strength to keep going during what feels like an impossible time.
"A huge thank you must also go to AF Blakemore & Son Ltd for their incredible support. Their guidance and assistance have been invaluable, reminding us that we’re not alone in this. While the road ahead feels uncertain, we’re determined to rebuild and continue serving our community."
String of crime hit convenience stores over the festive period as multiple cases of theft and looting were reported from across the country.
In one of the cases, Co-op store in Pontcanna, Cardiff was targeted by a shoplifter who was also caught on video brazenly ransacking shelves and stuffing cheese packets in a rucksack. The incident is reported to have happened around 3.40pm on Sunday (29).
The customer who took the video said, "There were only two staff in the shop. One did ask the man if he was going to pay but he just walked out.
"They said they weren’t given security staff anymore, and they weren’t going to risk their lives for some packets of Coop cheese, which I thought was sensible.
"It’s company policy not to have their staff apprehend people, which is a safer approach I think. I was totally shocked though. Apparently a customer got into a fight with a shoplifter recently."
Elsewhere in Glasgow, a convenience store was targeted by two armed men who also threatened the shop's worker with an imitation of firearm.
Two men entered USave store in Lynedoch Street in Glasgow on Dec 23 and started threatening the staff. The two allegedly presented an imitation firearm at a staff member before making violent threats and demanding money from him.
The ended up stealing a pack of cigarettes and £60 in cash before leaving.
The two men were later arrested and have appeared in court where they were charged with threatening a worker at a Greenock convenience store with an imitation firearm.
Both men appeared on petition at a private hearing at Greenock Sheriff Court, where they made no plea and were committed for further examination.
They were remanded in custody, with both due to return to court within the next eight days.
In another incident in Oxfordshire, SPAR in Minster Lovell was targeted in the early hours of Friday (27) when it was ram-raided and the cash machine was stolen.
It is the second time the shop has been targeted in three months. In September, a group of masked men broke into the store using a crowbar and electrical saw.
A slice of retail history has come to a close this Hogmanay as Monfries and Sons, a family-run convenience store in Brightons, shut its doors after more than a century of business.
The shop, located on Pretoria Street, has been serving generations of customers since its inception in 1919, but owner Sandy Monfries has decided it’s time to move on. The closure, reported by The Falkirk Herald, marks the end of an era for a store famously described as a “retail time warp.”
In an interview with The Falkirk Herald, Sandy Monfries confirmed the shop’s final day will be December 31, 2024. “All the details of the sale to the new owners have been finalised,” he said. “So we thought Hogmanay would be a good day to close on. I’ve got mixed feelings about it – I’ll be sad to go, but those long hours are something you can’t keep doing when you get a bit older.”
Monfries and Sons has been in its current location since 1945, and its aesthetic has remained largely unchanged, offering customers a nostalgic trip back in time. Earlier this year, Sandy described the store to The Falkirk Herald as resembling something out of Peaky Blinders, the popular drama set in the 1920s. “Well, we’ve never had an offer for something like that, but that might be an option. It does look like something you might see in Peaky Blinders,” he said.
The shop’s unique charm has been a deliberate choice by Sandy, who started working there in 1977, at the age of 17. Reflecting on his decision to resist modernisation, he said, “We did have people come in over the years. They said they could refurbish the shop and they showed me pictures and I thought, well then it just looks like every other shop. I didn’t want that so it just stayed the same. People remember it because it is so different from other shops.”
Over the decades, Monfries and Sons has become a cornerstone of the community, with customers often reminiscing about their lifelong connection to the store. Sandy shared, “People come in here now and say, ‘I used to come in here when my mum sent me up here for messages’ and now they have a family of their own. It’s hard to pick out just one memory from all the years – there are so many different things that have happened. The customers have been great. People have been with us for years and years.”
The business was first established by Sandy’s grandfather, John W Monfries, in Main Street, Brightons, back in 1919. It has since been passed down through generations of the Monfries family, each adding their chapter to its storied history. Sandy, who started working at the shop as a teenager, summed up his experience: “It’s been hard work, but I’ve always enjoyed it.”