Author: Karen Contrino

Brits are most likely to reach “peak Christmas panic” on 20th December – 2 days earlier than last year. As Christmas approaches, the days for grocery shopping, gift buying, and opportunities to visit the grandparents slip away as festive panic begins to mount among Brits. And according to analysis from courier service Gophr, the height of Christmas panic will hit the nation on the Friday before the big day (20th), two days earlier than last year’s peak of the 22nd. Coined “National Day of Christmas Panic”, the 20th December will represent the height of Christmas chaos and panic due to:…

As part of its relentless pursuit to stay ahead of payment fraud, Caxton Payments has teamed up with tell.money to introduce Confirmation of Payee (CoP) services, adding yet another cutting-edge layer of security to its platform and ensuring customers’ funds are more protected than ever. This collaboration comes at a crucial time, as authorised push payment fraud for the first half of 2024, though declining, still reached 97,344 cases and caused personal losses of £166.5 million and business losses of £47.2 million.(1) The partnership will integrate tell.money’s Confirmation of Payee service, a fully managed SaaS solution, enabling both business and…

With the festive season in full swing, feelings of loneliness can intensify – particularly for those living alone or far from family. To address this, Visiting Angels, an in-home care company led by Managing Director Ranjit Khunti, is hosting twice-monthly Meet and Make Friends mornings at Dobbies Garden Centre. These relaxed, welcoming events offer anyone in the community a chance to connect over a cup of tea and biscuits. “Loneliness can feel especially overwhelming during the holidays,” said Ranjit. “These mornings aren’t just about coffee and conversation – they’re about creating a lifeline for those who need to feel seen,…

BridgerPay, a trusted global payments operations platform, are launching Hands In’s split payments as part of their payment optimisation services. This will mean their extensive network of merchants are now able to split payments across multiple cards and between multiple individuals – natively within online checkouts. Multi Card payments BridgerPay merchants now have access to Multi Card payments from Hands In, where they can split their payment across two or more cards. By splitting payments across multiple cards, credit limits are no longer an obstacle to successful payments. Customers can choose this option within the checkout or have this offered…

In what was already a memorable year for the world’s number one coaching firm, ActionCOACH is celebrating after being named one of the UK’s top franchise opportunities. Ranking no.21 this year in the prestigious Elite Franchise Top 100 (EF100), a title they will hold for the entirety of 2025, ActionCOACH continues to demonstrate its position as the most innovative company in the business coaching industry. Established in 2017, in partnership with HSBC, the EF100 has become the go-to franchising list. It highlights the industry’s standout businesses, ranking them based on diverse criteria, including financial performance, heritage, community contributions and their…

Showcasing Europe’s Finest Swimming Pools and Spa Projects of the Year The European Pool and Spa Awards, organised annually by the European Union of Swimming Pool and Spa Associations (EUSA), honour the most exceptional domestic (residential) pools, spas, and hot tubs within the Wet Leisure Industry. Each year, winners from across Europe compete for recognition in this prestigious event. Following the 2024 awards ceremony, Europe’s most stunning swimming pool builds and hot tub installations have been revealed. This marks the 12th edition of these esteemed awards, which concluded with a ceremony on Tuesday, November 19th, at Piscine Global in Lyon.…

CÉ LA VI, part of award-winning ADMO Lifestyle Holding (ADMO), is bringing its iconic rooftop bar-restaurant to West London in Summer 2025. Renowned for its modern Asian flair, it will be the brand’s first European outpost, located atop the Renzo Piano Building Workshop – designed Paddington Square. Opening in West London’s newest shopping and dining destination Paddington Square, the highly anticipated launch represents a milestone in CÉ LA VI’s expansion, with successful landmark locations already established in Singapore, Dubai, Taipei, and Tokyo. Soon-to-be the highest rooftop restaurant in West London, CÉ LA VI London—boasting an impressive square footage of 17,000…

Student Roost, the UK’s third largest provider of purpose-built student accommodation, has launched a new resident app, in conjunction with Kinetic, which enables residents to rebook their room, access 24/7 wellbeing support, report maintenance issues and create meaningful connections with their neighbours in an instant. The app was initially trialled at properties in Durham and Bournemouth and, following its success, has been launched across all 50-plus properties comprising more than 23,000 beds. When trialled at Student Roost’s Home Park property in Bournemouth, 70% of residents downloaded and engaged with the app ahead of its official release across the portfolio.…

 Open Property Group conducted research to see the correlation between the decrease in UK property sales and the rising demand for using Cash House Buying companies who can buy your property in as little as 7 days. For the first time since May 2020, UK property sales dropped below 30,000. In April 2024, the amount of properties sold across the UK was 32,690. New data has revealed the average number of days it took to sell a property in each area of the UK in [insert date/timeframe]. It found: –       Wales = 80 days –       London =…

I Love Decaf, the UK’s first-ever dedicated decaffeinated coffee brand, is celebrating a major milestone: a Great Taste Award for The Only Best Trillionaires Decaf Coffee. Launched in 2022 after years of development, the brand has firmly entered the decaf market with its exceptional flavour and growing success, holding a 4.8 Trustpilot rating. “Drinking decaf shouldn’t feel like a punishment.” David Holly, founder of I Love Decaf (https://www.ilovedecaf.shop), was inspired to create the brand after a personal journey to reduce caffeine: “I was drinking three litres of coffee a day before I decided to cut back on caffeine. But the…