small business news
5 storiesA scheme offering empty units to start-up traders on short, cheap leases has filled 37 shopfronts, and a third of the tenants have now signed longer contracts.
Almost every stall at the weekend market now takes cards after a group deal cut fees, though traders say they will keep accepting coins for regulars who prefer them.
Small hotels and guesthouses around Greyling Bay report a rise in out-of-season bookings after joining forces to sell guided walks, cookery sessions and harbour suppers as short-break packages.
A Wrenhaven firm is renting out robot arms to small food producers on monthly contracts, letting bakeries and kitchens automate heavy, repetitive jobs without paying tens of thousands of euros upfront.
Tidewheel Coffee, which began roasting in a converted net loft eight years ago, has moved into a former chandlery and is now sending beans to cafés in three countries.
