Welsh wholesaler Castell Howell’s Christmas-themed lorry has made a special visit to Tŷ Llidiard in Bridgend on its festive delivery route across Wales and the Southwest of England
The wholesaler visited the mental health facility on 20 December with former Wales and British & Irish Lions rugby player Richard Hibbard. A lorry featuring the Christmas-themed wrap was driven by ‘Santa’, who gave out special gifts to the staff and patients, including selection packs, mince pies and fruit hampers.
Tŷ Llidiard is an adolescent mental health unit based at the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, providing inpatient care for young people with severe mental illness.
Matt Lewis, Managing Director at Castell Howell, said, “We wanted to spread a little festive cheer to the wonderful people at Tŷ Llidiard.
“Tŷ Llidiard provides invaluable support to young people. The fantastic team there make a huge difference to the daily lives of the young people they support by creating a calm, compassionate and confident culture. Giving back to the community and charities across Wales is something we do throughout the year and this special visit is a great example of our commitment to helping the communities we operate in.”
Richard Hibbard said: ‘’Mental health affects people from all walks of life and across multiple age groups, so when I heard what Castell Howell were planning, I really wanted to get involved. Meeting everyone at Ty Llidiard and hearing their different stories really put into perspective the importance of supporting those in our communities.’’
Lloyd Griffiths, Head of Mental Health Nursing at Tŷ Llidiard said, “Castell Howell have been key suppliers for a number of years. The importance of a balanced diet that is tailored to meet the needs of each individual patient is key in the support of positive mental health. Meal times are an important part of maintaining routine and social interaction and we work with Castell Howell to make sure our menu is varied and appealing. When we heard about their Christmas lorries and the surprise visits they offer, we thought it’d be a fabulous idea to surprise our patients and staff ahead of the big day.
“At Tŷ Llidiard, we’re committed to really making a difference to everyone’s daily lives through supporting patients and their families through the challenges they’re facing. In doing this, we also ensure the care is extended to our fantastic staff and this special Christmas visit is very much a collaborative approach to bring the festive fun to TŷLlidiard’’
The visit to Tŷ Llidiard comes as part of Castell Howell’s wider festivities, which have seen the Welsh wholesaler delivering festive cheer with two lorries featuring a Christmas-themed wrap, which form part of the main fleet delivering across Wales and the Southwest of England.
The festive themed additions have made deliveries to approximately 1,200 schools as well as featuring at community Christmas fayres and carnivals with the driver dressed as Santa giving out special gifts along the way. More than 2,000 gifts are given each year, including fruit hampers, selection packs, activity packs and Welsh food hampers.
Britain's economy contracted unexpectedly in September and growth slowed to a crawl over the third quarter, data showed on Friday, an early setback for chancellor Rachel Reeves' ambitions to kick-start a sustained pickup.
Gross domestic product slipped by 0.1 per cent in monthly terms during September as the services sector flat-lined, while manufacturing and construction dropped, the Office for National Statistics said.
For the third quarter as whole, the economy grew by 0.1 per cent, slowing from 0.5 per cent growth during the second quarter.
Economists polled by Reuters and the Bank of England had forecast an expansion of 0.2 per cent in the July-September period, slowing from the rapid growth of the first half of 2024 when the economy was rebounding from last year's shallow recession.
"Improving economic growth is at the heart of everything I am seeking to achieve, which is why I am not satisfied with these numbers," Reeves said in response to the figures.
"Now we are going to deliver growth through investment and reform to create more jobs and more money in people’s pockets, get the NHS back on its feet, rebuild Britain and secure our borders in a decade of national renewal."
Last week, the BoE trimmed its annual growth forecast for 2024 to 1 per cent from 1.25 per cent but predicted a stronger 2025, reflecting a short-term boost to the economy from the big-spending budget plans of finance minister Rachel Reeves.
Britain's economic output has grown slowly since the Covid-19 pandemic. Only Germany, which was also hit hard by surging energy costs after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has done noticeably worse among the largest advanced economies.
Prime minister Keir Starmer said he wanted the economy to reach annual growth of 2.5 per cent when campaigning for the July 4 election - a rate that Britain has not regularly achieved since before the 2008 financial crisis.
Reeves wants Britain to have the fastest per capita growth in gross domestic product among the Group of Seven advanced economies for two consecutive years.
Shoppers are becoming increasingly discerning when it comes to winning their loyalty with most now expect offers to be personalised while appetite for offers has grown over the last 12 months, shows a recent survey's findings.
In a new research from American Express, the survey of both UK consumers and retail decision makers reinforced that generic offers and incentives are not enough to win over new customers, and don’t positively impact long term loyalty.
Over seven in 10 shoppers (73 per cent) said when they receive offers like this via email, they tend to go unused. Almost three quarters (74 per cent) said they now expect offers to be personalised to them, for example, linked to products they’ve previously bought, and based on their previous interactions with the brand, or delivered at the right time, e.g. a birthday or following a recent purchase.
With consumers now seeking out tailored offers and services at every touchpoint, for retailers this means putting personalisation at the heart of their customer engagement strategy. The vast majority (93 per cent) of UK retailers surveyed acknowledge that appetite for offers has grown within their customer base over the last 12 months.
They’re taking concerted action, with personalisation being crucial; 94 per cent of retailers said their top priority for the year ahead is "making customers feel like we really know them". About a third (31 per cent) are looking to launch a new offers or loyalty programme over the next year.
The consumer research revealed a particular appetite for card-linked offers – digital offers from retailers which are directly linked to a particular payment method like a credit card, with three quarters (74 per cent) saying if a retailer gave them an offer like this, they’d choose them over an alternative retail brand that doesn’t, and two thirds (67 per cent) said they’d be likely to spend more.
Dan Edelman, general manager, UK Merchant Services at American Express, said, “Consumers have increasingly high expectations when it comes to being rewarded for their spending. Our research shows retailers recognise the need to respond to this demand as they focus on attracting and retaining customers.
"Card-linked offers such as Amex Offers can be a compelling solution for merchants – providing a strategic and efficient addition to marketing programmes, whether incentivising first-time purchase, driving up transaction values, or helping to build long term loyalty.”
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A general view shows shoppers on the high street in Scunthorpe, north east England.
The government has today (14) published draft legislation to, for the first time, permanently cut business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties from 2026.
The move marks the beginning of the delivery of the government’s promise to reform business rates, will benefit high streets across the UK, the government added.
The tax cut will be funded by a tax rise for the very largest business properties, such as online sales warehouses.
Until then, 250,000 retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties will receive 40 per cent relief off their business rates bills up to £110,000 per business to help smooth the transition to the new system.
This support is alongside the budget announcement to freeze the small business multiplier, together with Small Business Rates Relief protecting over a million properties from inflationary increases. Taken together, this is a package worth over £1.6 billion in 2025-26.
“For too long the business rates system has been working against our high streets. Today is a major step towards our new system that will support retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses on our high streets to succeed,” James Murray, exchequer secretary to the treasury, said.
“This bill paves the way for a permanent cut to their tax rate, helping to level the playing field between them and online and out-of-town businesses.”
The government has also introduced legislation to increase the Employment Allowance – a discount in National Insurance bills – from £5000 to £10,500, meaning 865,000 employers will not pay employer national insurance next year, and 250,000 employers will pay less National Insurance than they are now.
The government said the measure will allow firms to employ up to four National Living Wage workers full time without paying employer National Insurance on their wages.
The eligibility of the allowance will also be expanded to include all eligible employers, rather than just those with a wage bill of less than £100,000 a year.
“We are pleased to see James Murray and the whole Treasury team take this important step forward today – legislating for the significant increase to the Employment Allowance which FSB strongly championed, to protect smaller businesses with employment costs. But also taking a decisive step forward on business rates reform,” Craig Beaumont, Federation of Small Businesses executive director, said.
“For far too long, permanent business rates reform has been put into the too difficult box. It is extremely encouraging on rates to see ministers standing up for small firms in retail and hospitality and taking long-term action necessary to the future of our high streets – we look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the new government to make sure no small businesses whatsoever are blocked from achieving their ambitions by a rates system that has not simply not kept pace with the needs of a modern economy.”
To calculate a property’s business rates bill, the rateable value of a property is multiplied by the relevant multiplier (tax rate). Today’s Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill means that new permanently lower multipliers for RHL properties can be introduced from 2026.
The new RHL tax rates will be funded by a higher tax rate for the top 1 per cent most valuable properties – those with a rateable value of at least £500,000. Large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants, will help fund the high street tax cut, the government said.
A discussion paper has also been published to engage with businesses over the next six months on how to further reform the system outside of retail, hospitality and leisure.
North East Lincolnshire Council Trading Standards team have seized over £100,000 of illicit tobacco products during operations throughout Stoptober, the council stated on Wednesday (13).
The team and partner organisations such as Humberside Police uncovered 28,120 cigarettes, 12.45 kilos of tobacco and 3133 illegal disposable vapes in a number of shops during the four week operation. The products have an estimated value of over £100,000.
Shops and businesses on Freeman Street, Cromwell Road, Yarborough Road, and Second Avenue on the Nunsthorpe estate were all visited. The raids were part of Operation CeCe, an ongoing intelligence-led operation, targeting counterfeit and illicit cigarettes, tobacco and illegal disposable vape dealers.
Since January 2021, North East Lincolnshire Council Trading Standards team have seized 84,957 packs of cigarettes, 10,750 pouches of tobacco and over 17,000 illegal vapes, with a combined value of almost £1.8 million, all money which would have gone out of the local economy and into the hands of organised crime gangs.
Humberside Police’s Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for Grimsby West Claire Jacobs said: “We deployed our teams in support of North East Lincolnshire Council during this important operation to combat illicit cigarettes and tobacco within North East Lincolnshire.
“We continue our commitment through the Clear Hold Build initiative to ensuring that Grimsby remains a fantastic place, and working closely with partners on operations such as this one helps us to do exactly that.”
By law, Vapes should have an internal tank capacity of no more than 2ml, and the level of nicotine contained in the vaping fluid should not exceed 20mg/ml (or 2 per cent). As with tobacco products, these items are required to display certain health warnings and every such device, and the liquid it contains, should be registered with the MHRA (Medicines and Health care products Regulatory Agency) prior to being released onto the market.
Councillor Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities, said: “This joint operation shows just how important it is to work together. Multi-agency operations such as these are keeping these products, that do not meet safety standards and are putting lives at risk, off the streets. We know illicit and fake cigarettes do not comply with the Reduced Ignition Propensity requirements and won’t self-extinguish, so are likely to start a fire.
“When you buy these products, you could be putting your own health at risk. Not only has no duty been paid on them but they’ve not been tested to ensure they’re safe. It is important to remember that whilst legitimate disposable vaping bars can be a very useful aid to smokers who are wanting to quit, they still have potential health issues as a result of use, and should never be purchased and used by non-smokers”.
Speaking about quitting smoking, Cllr Stan Shreeve, NELC Portfolio holder for Heath, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care, said: “I urge smokers in our region to use the support services on offer to help them to quit smoking.
“We have so many examples of people turning their lives around completely after quitting smoking with support from the Wellbeing Team, and you only have to look at the figures released today to see what a positive impact that could have for everyone.”
Britain's Premier Foods reported a 4.6 per cent rise in half-year revenue, driven by continued growth in its grocery business and brands such as Mr Kipling, Nissin and The Spice Tailor, shows the results reported today (14).
As UK inflation eased during the first half of the year, consumers who had been cautious about non-essential spending began to loosen their purse strings. That bodes well for food manufacturers who aggressively hiked prices at the peak of a cost of living crisis over the past few years.
Pricing on average is lower than last year, CEO Alex Whitehouse said in a media call, adding that the lower pricing has led to strong volume growth for the group's grocery and sweet treats businesses.As spending trends change and in the lead up to the key Christmas season, some food manufacturers are offering temporary discounts to attract more customers.
Premier Foods said it was on track to meet full year expectations but does not give actual figures. Analysts expect revenue of 1.15 billion pounds and adjusted pre-tax profit of 161.9 million pounds for the year ending March 30, according to a company-compiled consensus.
However, volume trends are expected to normalise and per unit prices are expected to be flat compared to a year ago, rather than lower, Whitehouse said.
Premier, which makes products ranging from plain flour to cooking sauces and quick meals, reported headline revenue of 498.7 million pounds for the 26 weeks ended Sept. 30, up from 476.7 million pounds a year earlier.
Whitehouse said, “We’ve delivered another really strong branded performance in the first half, underpinned by double-digit volume growth.
"This demonstrates the success of our proven branded growth model which was also supported by sharper promotional pricing. We gained both volume and value market share, outperforming the market as many consumers switched into our leading brands from own label. Our innovation programme continues apace as we brought many new products to market in the period, including Sharwood’s curry kits, Mr Kipling Loaf cakes and Loyd Grossman Pesto.”
“As inflation has begun to ease and shoppers are starting to feel more confident, we’ve seen consumers treat themselves more, helping sales of both Mr Kipling Signature Bites and Ambrosia Deluxe more than double in the first half of the year. We’ve continued to make very good progress against all the pillars of our growth strategy.
"We accelerated capital investment in our supply chain, continuing to invest in projects to improve automation and increase efficiency, in addition to enabling growth through new product development. Angel Delight ice cream and Ambrosia porridge pots contributed to strong progress in our new categories, which grew 67 per cent, while the international business performed very well, with revenue up 31 per cent.
"We continue to be very pleased by the progress of our acquired brands, The Spice Tailor and FUEL10K and we now have the biggest selling granola product on the market.
“As we look to the second half, we have exciting plans in place across all our brands, with our best ever Mr Kipling Signature mince pies benefitting from expanded distribution. With this, and our continued branded momentum, we are on track to deliver on expectations for the full year. As we look further ahead, we expect revenue growth to continue to be generated from our strategic priorities of growing our UK branded core, extending into new categories, overseas expansion and M&A activity.”