Airbnb has partnered with CAMRA to offer three cherished pubs in England and Wales a complete makeover of their spare room, valued at over £10,000. The redecoration, paired with hosting support sessions from an Airbnb Community Team advisor, is a pilot project aiming to help the pubs boost their income by welcoming more guests and to attract visitor spending to other local businesses. The project rolls out at a time when almost 200 pubs have been demolished or converted for other uses in the past 12 months due to increasing financial pressures.

Some may prefer not to dwell too long on the tax changes in 2024, but the taxes paid by individuals were perhaps not as high as some might expect. Chris Etherington, Private Client Partner in the Leeds office at audit, tax and consulting firm RSMUK, says it is unlikely to stay that way though, as we highlight the plans people may have been putting off that could have a big impact on their tax bills.

Hiring conditions remained challenging in December, according to the latest KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs: North of England survey. Permanent placements were down at the quickest rate seen since mid-2020, while there was a sustained rapid drop in temp billings. At the same time, vacancy trends turn more negative in December and the supply of workers increased at a quicker rate on the month.

Oxford Risk research highlights disparities in pension income, savings, and retirement strategies between men and women aged 55+. Women over 55 will receive on average nearly £6,000 less in pension income annually than men whilst they anticipate spending £1,200 more than their expected pension income each year in retirement.

Jonathan Cooper is the Founder and Director of The Director’s Helpline and The Director’s Choice. He is the latest regional business professional in the hot seat as The p.ublished group of online newspapers gives him just 10 minutes to answer our 10 burning questions.

With Christmas just behind us, a new year beckons. All thoughts of turkeys, mince pies, and Christmas pudding are a distant memory with just a lingering hangover showing on our credit cards and vague reminders of embarrassing faux pas made due to too much Christmas spirit, if you know what I mean.

The Global Fraud Report 2024 witnessed not only a marked increase in fraud, but also genuine concern from research with 1,200 fraud professionals: 96% of the professionals are worried about the industrialisation of fraud, while 79% have seen a significant increase in the sophistication of fraud attacks in the past 12 months.

More than three quarters (76%) of North West businesses expect to see their turnover increase over the next year, up from 60% polled in December 2023, according to Lloyds’ Business Barometer 79% are confident of greater profitability.30% will be investing in training, while just over a fifth (21%) will be investing in increasing wages for employees.Nearly one in ten (9%) are aiming to enhance their technology through automation or AI..

Yet again for 2024, we’re bringing back our popular festive spotlight — featuring regional businesspeople from across the north. We’ll be quizzing a notable name with 10 quickfire questions.

Business confidence in the North West rose by one point to 50% in December – above overall UK confidence, which dipped two points in December to 39%, and the second-highest of any UK nation or region after London. While firms’ optimism in their own trading prospects fell by 12 points to 53%, their optimism in the economy climbed 14 points to 46%.

Yet again for 2024, we’re bringing back our popular festive spotlight — featuring regional businesspeople from across the north. We’ll be quizzing a notable name with 10 quickfire questions.

Christmas is the season to be jolly. It’s almost compulsory to have a wonderful time at Christmas. The shops are full of Christmas themes from November or earlier, and the television is full of adverts resplendent with jingling bells, clinking glasses, happy children, and the occasional, red-nosed reindeer. At work there’s talk of Christmas parties, ‘secret Santa,’ and gifts from the boss.