Bill Grimsey to embark on national tour in support of the high street as part of Labour’s High Streets Advisory Group

Retail champion Bill Grimsey to embark on national tour in support of the high street as part of Labour’s High Streets Advisory Group

 

• Former Wickes CEO to meet local retailers on the future of the high street and highlight Labour’s business rates cut

• Group to advise on future opportunities for the high street – including pop-up shops and start-up spaces – building on the success of Small Business Saturday

 

The former CEO of Wickes and Iceland, Bill Grimsey, is to launch a national tour in every region to look at the challenges facing the high street and spread the campaign for Labour’s business rates cut.

With 45 years of experience in retailing, Bill Grimsey recently published a review An Alternative Future for the High Street, spelling out a plan for boosting the high street and highlighting the challenges retailers face, including the impact of rising business rates on small and medium sized businesses.

Bill Grimsey will be part of a new Advisory Group which will advise the Labour Shadow Business (BIS) and Communities & Local Government (CLG) teams on how best to support high streets. He joins other experts in retail, high streets, and local business organisations such as BIDs (Business Improvement Districts).

Members of the Advisory Group will be looking at successful examples of high street rejuvenation and entrepreneurial activity across the country. They will also be giving advice to Labour Shadow Ministers on how the number of BIDs can be increased and be developed further.

BIDs are an initiative which Labour brought in, enabling these business-led organisations to be established across the country. The Group will give advice on how new ideas like pop-up shops, start-up spaces and local entrepreneurial networks can be encouraged and help high streets, and give advice on the challenges and opportunities facing high streets through the increasing impact of on-line retail and digital technologies.

Following the great success of the first Small Business Saturday on 7 December, the Advisory Group will also look at the many ideas that came out of the campaign. Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, Chuka Umunna, helped establish Small Business Saturday and brought together a coalition to make it happen. Small Business Saturday saw extra takings in small and independent shops of nearly £500m, support from 50 small business organisations and 40 per cent of councils taking part with hundreds of events across the country.

Chuka Umunna MP, Shadow Business Secretary, said:

“There have been some bright spots for small businesses like the recent Small Business Saturday which was such a huge success, boosting spending in small and independent shops and highlighting what the high street can offer. And there are great examples of local action to support the high street, which I saw at first hand when I visited the Camden Collective in North London.

“But we also know many firms are facing the struggle of the cost of doing business, and none more so than the impact of business rates. I’m pleased that Bill Grimsey will be helping us talk to employers and employees about our business rates cut and to understand the challenges they face.

“Bill and other members of our Advisory Group will bring huge experience and help us listen to as many businesses as possible about what they need to grow and how we can support the high street.

Hilary Benn, Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, said:

“Today one in seven of Britain’s shops is empty. The Government’s response has been woeful and local communities feel powerless as they see payday lenders and betting shops taking over and blighting their high streets.”

“Communities want high streets to be part of a vibrant local economy, as well as places that offer jobs, services, convenience and bring local people together. The wealth of experience that Bill and the Advisory Group will bring to help our high streets recover and thrive will be invaluable.”

Bill Grimsey said:

 

“Small businesses are being heavily squeezed by big rises in business rates and this is pushing many over the edge. In producing my report I saw just how big an impact business rates have on high street shops. Businesses have been crying out for help for years and Labour’s announcement is a big step in the right direction.

“I’m pleased to be able to go around the country looking at how we can not only cut business rates but put in place the types of measures I’ve laid out to give small businesses the chance to grow, and also encourage entrepreneurs to set up high street ventures.”

Ends

 

Notes for Editors

 

1. Business rates: a Labour Government would:

· Cut business rates on properties with an annual rental value of less than £50,000 in 2015, back to the level of the previous year.

· Freeze business rates for those properties at that level in 2016.

· Pay for the tax cut by reversing the additional cut in the main rate of Corporation Tax from 21 per cent to 20 per cent in 2015

· Ensure the measure is the centrepiece of a first Labour Budget so that businesses get a refund on their 2015 rates.

· Labour’s plan will mean an average saving of £410 over the two years (above and beyond the government’s 2% cap next year).

2. Small Business Saturday

· In January 2013 Chuka Umunna called for the UK to hold its first ever small Business Saturday, mirroring the success of the initiative in the USA. He brought together a coalition of businesses and councils to make it happen and on December 7 saw the inaugural Small Business Saturday.

· The day saw nearly an estimated £500m of extra spend in small and independent shops, half of the UK consumers knew about the day, and over 40% of councils took part, and 50 small business organisations were involved with events being held across the country. Many Labour Councils, MPs and parliamentary candidates worked with their local business to promote the day.

· This year’s Small Business Saturday will take place on 6 December 2014. Labour is committed to making it even bigger and better.

3. Labour’s High Streets Advisory Group

· Labour’s Advisory Group will give advice and thinking to the Shadow Business and Communities and Local Government teams.

· The Advisory Group consists of the following:

 

Bill Grimsey

Bill Grimsey is the former CEO of Wickes and Iceland and has 45 years in retail. He began his career with Bishop’s Food Stores, where he rose to become a director, before joining Tesco in 1986 as Customer Services Director. Bill Grimsey went on to be chief executive of store groups both in the UK and abroad in South Africa and Hong Kong and has earned a reputation as a turnaround specialist. He gained particular attention for masterminding the recovery of DIY group Wickes. Another of these recovery roles was during Bill’s four years at the helm of Iceland, where he replaced Stuart Rose.

Bill is currently an adviser on retail issues and an author. Last year he published a book called ‘Sold Out: Who killed the High Street?’ and this year produced a leading report  called An Alternative Future for the High Street which brought together leading experts in retail, property, and regeneration in a ground-breaking review into high streets.

 

Jane Bevis

Jane Bevis is an entrepreneur and independent consultant whose clients include retail interests such as EuroCommerce (the European retail association) and The Co-operative Group, as well as the grass roots community organisation Citizens UK.  She was Director of Public Affairs at the British Retail Consortium until September 2012 and led the BRC’s original work on 21st Century High Streets. Jane is on the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s Strategic Advisory Network, chairs the Board of On-Pack Recycling Label Ltd, and is an Associate at Acclimatise, the climate risk consultancy.

Simon Pitkeathley

Simon has a background in banking and politics and has been CEO of the multi-award winning Camden Town BID, Camden Town Unlimited, since 2007. He is Co-Chair of the GLA BID Steering Group, Co-Chair of Cross River Partnership and sits on the London Enterprise Panel, SME Sub Group. Earlier roles included working for the Prime Minister in 2001 and 2005, Executive Director of the British Bankers’ Association between 1999 and 2003 and consultancy work for various clients including JP Morgan, Citigroup and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). Simon has also had business interests in an online retail venture and a management development consultancy.

Jamie Licko, BA, MPA

Jamie has international experience developing Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and innovative place management strategies, including using Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and Community Development Corporations (CDCs).  She’s consulted with communities, local governments and non-profits in the US and UK on programmes to bring revitalisation and economic growth to the fore.

She has previously served as the chief executive of a US-based BID where she utilised TIF to jump-start investment and job growth and created a CDC to assist in the redevelopment of challenging properties. She has since assisted communities and clients in more than 50 cities and 15 states across North America, advised on multiple UK BID and town centre strategy initiatives, and most recently helped guide new place management initiatives in Singapore including drafting national BID legislation. Jamie is a frequent speaker and author on place management and revitalisation issues, and is a board member of the International Downtown Association.