Bike sales surge at Halfords as Team GB cyclists Laura Trott and Bradley Wiggin’s inspire people to get back in the saddle
Sales rose by 12.5 per cent in the seven weeks to August 19
CYCLING superstars Laura Trott and Sir Bradley Wiggins set off an Olympics-inspired sales surge at HALFORDS.
The group's total cycle sales for the seven weeks to August 19 were up by 12.5 per cent.
It put the success down to good weather and an ad campaign fronted by Rio gold medallists Laura, 24, and Sir Bradley, 36, plus ex-champ Chris Boardman.
Motoring gear sales grew 0.6 per cent.
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Builders: Just let us crack on
BOSSES of a major UK building firm have called for a bonfire of red tape and regulations to end the country’s housing crisis.
Steve Morgan, chairman of REDROW PLC, said: “A number of things need to be done. I would start with planning. Red tape needs to be addressed.”
Mr Morgan added: “We need a system that is much more user-friendly and light of touch to speed things up.”
And the boss of Britain’s No5 house builder revealed that his company was sitting on “thousands of plots of land” that could be used for building.
He spoke as the firm reported a 23 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £250million. Shares closed up 26.20p at 410.50p, a rise of nearly seven per cent.
Mr Morgan said red tape was blocking smaller players from getting into the market and doing their bit to plug the gap. He said: “The cost and daunting wall of red tape puts off small builders without our resources.”
Redrow’s chief executive John Tutte added his plea for smaller builders to pile into the market.
He said: “The major players like us can’t deliver the houses that Britain needs on our own.”
Experts such as those at housing charity Shelter believe Britain needs to build around 240,000 new homes each year to meet demand.
Mr Tutte also urged the Government to think more about training to tackle the skills shortage.
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