There's no doubt that retail administrations have dominated business headlines this year, with news that HMV, Jessops, Blockbusters, Republic and more have hit the wall, spreading fast.
With so many big names calling in the administrators, it's clear that the industry is facing some very difficult times - so much so that the trade body for store groups, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has stepped up to try and improve trading conditions for surviving high street businesses.
The BRC is fronting voices from within the retail industry calling upon the Government to freeze business rates in April. The group cited the £20 billion increase in costs that has taken place over the past seven years as its main motivation for keeping down rates, noting that this represents a 21 per cent rise since 2006.
A submission is due to be presented by the consortium to the Chancellor before next month's Budget. It will urge George Osborne and the Government to introduce a system that delivers "more affordable and predictable increases" to help give retail businesses a fighting chance.
This is not the first time that the Government has received such calls to change the way in which it determines business rates for retailers. The majority of requests for change focus around demands to switch on to a method based on the 12-month average of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation.
While retail administrations could slow down if a more manageable system is introduced, those who have bought distressed businesses could find themselves faced with a more positive outlook due to the changes in the trading environment. But with the next Budget due in March, those looking to profit from a distressed business will need to move quickly if they want to take advantage of the potential drops in retail business rates.
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