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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...

Bira warns of 'troubled times ahead' despite interest rate cut

Posted on in Business News , Cycles News

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 2025 to just 0.75%.

Bank of England

Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira, said: "The reduction in interest rates was expected and is welcome news for the retail sector. We have consistently maintained that rates have unnecessarily remained high for longer than required, and we anticipate this reduction will help boost consumer confidence."

However, Bira expressed serious concerns regarding the Bank's revised economic growth projections. The forecast has been halved from the previous estimate of 1.5% to just 0.75% for 2025, despite recent government initiatives.

Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira
Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira

Mr Goodacre said: "The Bank's economic growth outlook is deeply worrying. Independent retailers are still grappling with the triple impact of rising costs from last year's budget. While the Bank of England is taking steps to stimulate growth through rate cuts, more immediate action is needed from the government to support high street businesses."

The Bank's decision comes amid rising inflation expectations, with projections showing inflation could reach 3.7% in the third quarter of this year. Additionally, unemployment is forecast to increase to 4.8% over the next year, highlighting the challenging economic environment facing retailers.

Bira emphasises that while long-term infrastructure projects are important, immediate support for high street businesses is crucial.

He added: "Long-term projects like the third runway at Heathrow will do little to address the immediate challenges facing high street retailers this year. We need to see concrete government plans that will deliver immediate support to our sector."

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