This is a trade facing website. Visit the ACT's consumer site thecyclingexperts.co.uk for information and advice on cycling and find your local independent cycle retailer.

Search News

Results: 1-10 of 943


7 Feb 2025

ACT parent company Bira has warned that retailers across Britain face troubled times ahead despite today's Bank of England interest rate cut to 4.5%, as the Bank halves its growth forecast for...

4 Feb 2025

The ACT and legal partner WorkNest are hosting an exclusive webinar on how to remain compliant with employment law while making necessary business changes.

31 Jan 2025

New independent research has confirmed OEM e-bikes are effectively exempt from risk of battery fires, with unsafe post-purchase replacement batteries, conversion kits, and other equipment that...

31 Jan 2025

The UK Government has decided not to go ahead with proposals to increase the maximum power output of e-Bikes to 500W and to permit throttle assistance following a lengthy consultation process.

23 Jan 2025

ACT parent company Bira is calling for urgent government intervention following disappointing December retail figures, which show sales volumes fell by 0.3% following a modest 0.1% rise in...

22 Jan 2025

Cytech's Australian training provider The Bicycle Academy,  which delivers their courses in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, paid visits to UK Cytech centres late last year...

21 Jan 2025

The ACT is set to deliver a seminar at both the North and South iceBike* events discussing the current challenges and opportunities facing the UK cycle industry.

17 Jan 2025

The ACT has teamed up with employment law, HR, and health and safety experts WorkNest as the association's new legal partner.

10 Jan 2025

The ACT have presented a formal complaint to the BBC, with Director Jonathan Harrison claiming the program was misrepresentative and made "incorrect claims about regulations".

9 Jan 2025

ACT parent company Bira has warned that disappointing footfall figures for December show mounting pressures on independent retailers, with concerning implications for 2025 as business costs...

Back to news menu

Bira CEO addresses surge in retail crime on the BBC

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

Bira's CEO, Andrew Goodacre, took the spotlight on BBC Breakfast this week and later spoke with Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live, shedding light on the rise in retail crime and shop theft, particularly affecting independent retailers nationwide.

Andrew Goodacre

On BBC Breakfast, Mr Goodacre discussed the alarming impact of increasing retail crime on independent businesses. He highlighted the vulnerability of smaller retailers facing challenges that include not only financial losses but also the emotional toll on business owners.

"There is a fear, a real fear among large and small retailers that this problem could get bigger towards the end of the year." expressed Mr Goodacre.

During the interview, he shared insights into the lack of confidence in the police regarding retail crime affecting independent retailers, from shoplifting to vandalism.

"There is a real lack of confidence in police actions on those (types of incidents). Over the years there has been a real trend in people taking from shops being treated as a low priority and now we're paying the penalty for that," he said.

Later in the morning, he continued the conversation on BBC Radio 5 Live with Nicky Campbell. The radio interview delved deeper into the root causes of the surge in retail crime and explored potential solutions to safeguard independent retailers:

"This is a problem for large and small retail, there's no doubt that the cost of security people on doors is something that small retailers would struggle to afford. They employ more staff to keep an eye on stock and retailers are careful where they place their stock as well," he added.

 

"Some of the larger retailers have contributed around £800,000 to form a task force in Lyme with the Police and Crime Commissioners, looking at the role of organised crime and looking to dismantle that role, hopefully. We do know that the Government are prioritising this with the police forces as well, so there is action.  All that takes time and it's time that sometimes businesses don't have because they're affected by this every day.”

You can view the BBC Breakfast interview on catchup here and listen to the BBC Radio 5 Live interview here.

Back to news menu

Useful links

If you have any other queries please contact us.