Year-on-year retail sales volumes fell at a faster pace in January, extending the sector’s downturn into a fourth consecutive month. That’s according to the latest CBI Distributive Trades Survey. Retailers expect annual sales to fall again in February, at a broadly similar rate.

The number of businesses experiencing critical financial distress across the North East climbed dramatically ahead of the UK average in Q4 2024. Instances of distress rose by 75.24%, against a UK average rise of 50.17% compared with the previous three-month period.

The 2025 Northern Power Women Awards, Europe’s largest celebration of gender equality, has announced its finalists and Game Changers, showcasing extraordinary individuals and organisations driving inclusion and innovation across the UK.

Moneypenny, a provider of call answering and digital communications solutions, is excited to announce the launch of its new Call Tracking service, which has been created in partnership with Ruler Analytics, a marketing measurement platform.

Digital health company Inhealthcare has launched a self-referral service to help NHS organisations manage the expected surge in demand for new weight loss medications, with the system already live in the North East and North Cumbria ICS region.

Sentiment across the manufacturing sector fell at the fastest pace in over two years in January, according to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest quarterly Industrial Trends Survey. Manufacturing output volumes fell over the quarter to January, though less sharply than in the quarter to December. Output is expected to fall further in the three months to April.

Professional services firm, AAB, has invested in Ormsby & Rhodes, one of the longest-established firms in Ireland, strengthening its international presence and access to the European market. The deal propels AAB past the £100m revenue mark. Ormsby & Rhodes was established in 1911 and is consistently ranked in the top 20 firms in Ireland.

North East engineers RWO have won work to support the development of the first of a new generation of data centres, strengthening their position as a growing provider of services to the sector.

All medium-sized Retail, Hospitality and Leisure businesses will see a substantial increase in their business rates from 1st April as a result of changes announced in the Autumn 2024 Budget. Bankier Sloan Chartered Surveyors urge business owners to prepare for a shock in early March when their Business Rates Demand lands on their desk.

Grant Thornton UK LLP's Corporate Finance team has advised the shareholders of North East-based commercial cleaning and facilities company Maxim FM on the sale of the business to private equity backed OCS Group. Based in Sunderland, Maxim is one of the fastest-growing regional facilities management companies in the UK.

An international life sciences recruitment firm has completed a management buyout (MBO) with founder Andrew Buxton. The Leeds-headquartered company will see the management team of Tom Maskill, CEO, Sheridan White, CRO, and Ben Paice, COO, take majority ownership. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will provide a platform for global growth.

The Open North Foundation (ONF) has announced that it is disbanding after achieving its goal of providing vital support to small businesses in the region during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, totalling £ 90,000.

Northern developer Almscliffe-Dhesi (AD) is transforming a derelict industrial site on Faverdale in north-west Darlington into a multi-let retail park. Construction work on the two-acre site begins in February and is scheduled to finish in September. Occupiers already signed up are Costa Coffee, Greggs, Indigo Sun, Harrison Vets and Fastned.

Small businesses across the North of England are showing resilience and determination in their growth plans for 2025, outperforming many other UK regions in terms of confidence and ambition, according to new research from Novuna Business Finance.

With just 70 days left to go until the government’s new Simpler Recycling reforms are implemented, BusinessWaste.co.uk is concerned many companies aren’t prepared for the rule changes. Mark Hall, waste management expert at Business Waste, has shared everything businesses need to know ahead of the rules coming into force on 31st March 2025.

The University of Hull has emerged as the UK's leading institution for artificial intelligence education, spearheading a northern renaissance in technology training.

Recent reports of workplace harassment and misconduct in the fast-food sector have underscored a pervasive issue that affects employees across industries. These revelations highlight a stark reality: too many workplaces fail to adequately protect their staff or create environments where employees feel safe to raise concerns.

Persimmon: Better Positioned Than Many Competitors by Focusing onMid-Market Homes; Vertical Integration Continues to Give Persimmon an Edge. Vistry: Mismanagement Concerns May Extend Across the Group Behind Profit Warning; Partnership Model and Reliance on Brownfield Sites Add Cost Complexity.

I attended a recent event, and one of the presenters represented the British Business Bank. I was surprised to hear that most business people at the event didn’t know anything about the British Business Bank (BBB). The BBB is a government-owned but independently managed economic development bank, wholly owned by the Department for Business and Trade.

In a blow to HMRC but a success for the not-for-profit sector, Philip Munn and Scott Harwood at audit, tax and consulting firm RSMUK, write that the UK courts have found that the UK VAT exemption for charity fundraising events infringed EU law, thereby granting relief to the Yorkshire Agricultural Society. This marks the latest decision, post-Brexit, that considers the extent of EU influence on UK law and while this decision concerned an event that took place in 2016, it might still affect future court rulings for similar cases.

Responding to the latest ONS data on trade, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the BCC, said: “Across the last 12 months, UK goods export growth has been essentially flat. In the autumn, key trade metrics went into reverse on both goods and services. “A lack of consumer and business confidence globally has also weighed down on the UK’s trade performance at the end of 2024.

ONS data that showed GDP rose by 0.1% in November 2024, following a decline in GDP of 0.1% in October.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) has made over 130 investments totalling £50m into businesses in the North of England, following its launch in March 2024. The milestone highlights the British Business Bank’s commitment to supporting smaller businesses across the North to secure crucial funding for growth.

The Institute of Directors has strengthened its Board with the appointment of three new Non-Executive Directors. The new directors are: Renee Hunt Renee is an executive leader with over 30 years of experience in a variety of technical and business roles across: financial services, media, telecoms and the public sector.