Business

Plans for new Devizes Tesco superstore in ‘parkland setting’ with lakes and trees unveiled

Published

4 hours ago

6 July 2026

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The proposals include a huge shop alongside a drive-through Starbucks and a DIY store

Peter Davison, Local Democracy Reporter

08:01, 06 Jul 2026

If permitted, the new Tesco will be set among lakes and trees(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)

Developers have unveiled plans for a new Tesco in a Wiltshire town – and in a description more reminiscent of one of the county’s grand country estates, claiming it will be built in a ‘parkland setting’.

Should it receive planning permission, the Tesco would be surrounded by natural lakes, trees, and other landscaped features – a vision that English gardener Capability Brown would have applauded.

Robert Cort Properties is seeking to build a Tesco superstore, alongside a drive-through Starbucks and a DIY store, on land on the outskirts of the Devizes urban area, within the parish of Bishops Cannings.

The 7.4-hectare site sits next to a plot earmarked by Aldi for a new store. Its development partner, PRZM Real Estate, has already lodged a planning application for a £10m, 1,800 square metre store, along with a drive-through coffee shop, on the stretch of land running alongside the A361 London Road.

Also nearby is the former Cannings Hill filling station. Despite no longer operating as a fuel retailer, the site currently houses a car dealership, motor workshop, and hand car wash.

Last month, fast food giant McDonald’s announced its intention to build a drive-through restaurant on the site.

While Robert Cort Properties is headquartered in Reading, its managing director Jonathan Skull is no stranger to Devizes, having previously played cricket for the town. He also has family ties to Marlborough.

He told an online public meeting on Thursday: “I feel it could be a lovely plot that the community could benefit from.”

He revealed that his company had previously sought planning permission to construct a business park on the former MoD land, situated a mile and a half east of Devizes town centre.

Having been turned down by Wiltshire Council, the firm secured approval at a 2024 planning appeal. However, with little demand for a business park, the company has shifted its focus to retail, with the hope that the employment opportunities generated by the scheme will strengthen its planning case.

He said the development would provide a significant boost to the local economy, creating jobs and apprenticeships in the process. “A lot of young people, especially, are struggling to find jobs,” he said.

Architect Robert O’Reilly acknowledged the proposed site was just 400 metres from the boundary of the North Wessex Downs National Landscape.

“We want to integrate a strong parkland look, with lakes and trees,” he said. “It won’t be boring grey boxes in a boring grey landscape.”

He also assured those present that sufficient parking would be provided to ensure shoppers did not spill over into surrounding residential streets.

Transport consultant Paul Greatwood argued that the new development was unlikely to generate additional traffic. On the contrary, he suggested it would allow residents in the rapidly-growing eastern part of the town to carry out their shopping without having to navigate through the town centre.

Lee Nicoll, from the property acquisition team at Tesco, confirmed the retailer had been “actively looking for a site for a large store” in Devizes for some time. He explained that at 40,000 sq ft, or 1,800 sq m, the supermarket would be “slightly larger than Marlborough, slightly smaller than Calne, and around a third of the size of the Trowbridge supermarket.

“The store will have a new look and feel. It will look really fresh,” he said.

Customers could anticipate fresh produce, an in-store bakery, a health and beauty section, clothing, and cash machines. Both click and collect, and home delivery services will be available.

What it won’t feature is a filling station. Approximately 75 to 80 new jobs would be created. The trading hours are expected to be 7am to 11pm.

Mr Greatwood indicated there would probably be four HGV deliveries daily, with one fresh produce delivery in the morning.

Devizes currently has a town centre Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s, as well as an edge-of-town Lidl. However, Mr Nicholl commented: “We’re confident there’s a place for us. We want to be in Devizes and believe the public will enjoy our products.”

He noted that the local economy in Devizes was losing £4m annually to Tesco at Trowbridge. The proposed store would retain more revenue within the local economy, he added.

The developers were questioned about whether there would be a coordinated approach to the area’s future development. “We’ve reached out,” said Mr Skull.

“The Aldi application and this one are likely to be considered together by Wiltshire Council, who will want us to take a holistic approach to deliver something that is right for the community.”

The partnership will be seeking public feedback until July 21. A planning application is set to be submitted to Wiltshire Council in September, with a decision anticipated in early 2026, paving the way for construction to commence in 2027.

A public consultation event will take place in person at Devizes Corn Exchange on Tuesday, July 7, running from 1pm until 7.30pm.

Business

By-election to test third-term Labor in Secret Harbour

Published

4 seconds ago

6 July 2026

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A by-election will be held in the southern electorate of Secret Harbour after Paul Papalia announced his resignation and revealed a close family member had been diagnosed with a “serious illness”.

Business

Form 4 Barrel Energy Inc For: 6 July

Published

6 minutes ago

6 July 2026

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Form 4 Barrel Energy Inc For: 6 July

Business

Fincantieri Shares Surge on Underwater Deal-Making Spree

Published

13 minutes ago

6 July 2026

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Fincantieri Shares Surge on Underwater Deal-Making Spree

Shares of Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri FCT 10.60%increase; up pointing triangle jumped after the group said it had sealed agreements to acquire stakes in four companies to shore up its operations across marine construction support, unmanned underwater and surface drone technologies, and underwater wireless communication systems.

The company said it was taking stakes in Next Geosolutions Europe NXT -3.34%decrease; down pointing triangle, which operates in the offshore renewable energy, offshore oil and gas and subsea cable sectors; WSense, which specializes in underwater monitoring and communication systems; Defcomm, active in the design and construction of unmanned surface vehicles; and Graal Tech, which makes underwater robotic technologies.

Business

CIO Weekly: Warsh's Fed – Hike, Hold Or Cut?

Published

21 minutes ago

6 July 2026

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CIO Weekly: Warsh's Fed – Hike, Hold Or Cut?

Business

Hargreaves Lansdown reshuffles senior leadership team with two new hires

Published

29 minutes ago

6 July 2026

NewsAdmin

The Bristol-based investment platform has snapped up two senior figures from Vanguard

08:48, 06 Jul 2026Updated 08:54, 06 Jul 2026

Hargreaves Lansdown in Bristol(Image: Bristol Post)

Bristol-based investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) has bolstered its senior leadership team with two new hires.

The finance platform has appointed Charles Thompson as chief technology officer and Michael Finnegan as chief transformation officer.

The pair, who are both joining from asset manager Vanguard, have backgrounds in tech and retail investing in the US market.

They will replace Richard Hebdon, current chief digital and technology officer, and Darren Worth, chief strategy and transformation officer, who will leave HL later this year. Hebdon and Worth will remain with the business for a transition period, Business Live understands.

Thompson will join HL on September 1, subject to regulatory approval, and will be based in Bristol. He was most recently principal and divisional CIO for advice and wealth management at Vanguard, having previously led technology at Vanguard International, spanning APAC, Europe and the Americas. Before that he held senior technology leadership roles at National Australia Bank.

Finnegan will also join HL in September and will be based in Bristol. He previously held a number of senior roles at Vanguard, most recently as head of wealth planning and partnerships. Before that he was head of international strategy and chief of staff for Vanguard’s International business and CFO for the Americas.

Richard Flint, outgoing CEO and non-executive deputy chair at HL, said the appointments were made following “a rigorous external search”.

“We are delighted to welcome Charles and Michael to HL,” he said.

“They are strong leaders with deep experience across technology, transformation and retail investing, and they will further strengthen the executive team.”

Mr Flint said HL would look to “combine the best” of its market position with lessons from the US, where technology, product innovation and customer engagement had “helped more people invest for their future”.

“Charles and Michael will play critical roles in that next phase,” he added. “I want to thank Darren and Richard for their service to HL… We are grateful for everything they have contributed and wish them both well for the future.”

Thompson said he was “incredibly excited” to join HL and was “looking forward to leading the build” of new technology capability within the business.

Meanwhile, Finnegan said HL had a “major opportunity” to help more people move from saving to investing.

“I’m excited to help deliver the change needed to support that ambition and help HL move faster for clients,” he added.

Business

At Close of Business podcast July 6 2026

Published

36 minutes ago

6 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Nadia Budihardjo speaks with Tom Zaunmayr about the impact of workforce migration agreements on regional WA.

Business

Record heat, crowds drive offseason boom in international travel

Published

42 minutes ago

6 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Record heat, crowds drive offseason boom in international travel

Why there's no 'offseason' travel anymore

Sick of the heat, crowds and high prices, more U.S. travelers are discovering the offseason of international travel — and airlines and hotels are fighting for a windfall.

Flights to once-seasonal European vacation destinations now start when there’s still snow on the ground in the U.S. and wrap up when leaves are falling off the trees, if they end at all, instead of following traditional late-spring to late-summer travel seasons.

For example, American Airlines‘ flight to Edinburgh, Scotland, from New York began in March. United Airlines‘ nonstop route to Palermo, Sicily from Newark, New Jersey, will end in December and Delta Air Lines‘ service to Rome from Minneapolis, Minnesota, will run into January, months later than they have in past years.

With this year’s surge in jet fuel expected to take a $100 billion bite out of airline profits this year, according to the International Air Transport Association, it’s crucial for the industry to maximize on travel trends that attract high-spending customers.

Investors are upbeat that airlines can take the fuel hit from earlier this year after they trimmed unprofitable or less profitable flights and airline executives have said strong demand has helped them pass some — but not all of those expenses along.

Shares of Delta and United, the two most profitable U.S. airlines, each hit records in recent weeks, and American’s shares touched an 18-month high. Airlines start reporting second-quarter results and providing third-quarter updates this month, with Delta kicking the season off on Friday.

A couple cools off in the Trocadero Fountain with the Eiffel Tower in the background during a heat wave in Paris on June 26, 2026.

Dimitar Dilkoff | Afp | Getty Images

‘Creep of the seasons’

Industry executives told CNBC that international vacation seasons used to be more defined. The new trends are forcing them to rip up decades-old playbooks.

“It used to be so much lumpier. There used to be more: good season, bad season,” Delta President Peter Carter said in an interview. “There are so many places you can go in Europe year-round and still have an amazing experience, and that’s why we’re seeing such good demand into Europe.”

That demand is redefining when airlines’ moneymaker months are.

“We’ve seen this massive, what I would call, the creep of the seasons — the shoulder season is blending into the full season,” Patrick Quayle, United Airlines‘ senior vice president who designs the carrier’s network, said in an interview last month.

Shoulder season refers to the period between a destination’s peak tourist season and its offseason.

Airlines are trying to extend the season as much as possible to grow profits.

International flights to Europe generally carry more premium seats like lie-flat pods than smaller jets that are used for domestic travel — and airlines are planning to expand those options further. Business-class fares on some of those routes can cost $10,000 for a round-trip instead of less than half that on a domestic route.

A dog is standing with its owners in a long line at Terminal 1 of Frankfurt Airport in Germany.

Andreas Arnold | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Airfare overall is up this year compared with last as airlines try to pass along as much of their rising costs to customers as possible, but there are signs that prices are moderating, particularly as the industry braces for the peak summer travel period in July to pass.

For example, flights between the U.S. and Athens, Greece, on June 22 were going for $988 round-trip, up from $810 last year but down from $1,350 two months earlier, according to flight-tracking site Kayak.

The increase in shoulder season and off-peak travel is forcing Delta to rethink its maintenance and crew schedules, said Jeff Arinder, Delta vice president of international network planning.

“We would never give airplanes to the maintenance hangers, if we could avoid it, in the summertime … because that’s when we made all the money,” he told CNBC. “We are now doing more maintenance in the summertime because we want to save those planes for the fall.”

He said Delta is trying to “really flatten out our seasonality as much as possible.”

Why travel times are changing

People try to cool down by standing in front of a nebuliser placed on a Civil Protection pick-up truck spraying cool water during a heatwave, in Rome near the Colosseum on June 26, 2026.

Andreas Solaro | Afp | Getty Images

The latest challenge to usual summer European travel was the most recent, deadly heat wave.

In late June, locals and tourists alike faced dangerous record temperatures throughout Europe, where air conditioning isn’t widespread. Misting stations were set up from Warsaw, Poland, to Rome. The Paris LGBTQ+ Pride march was postponed, among other events, and public alcohol consumption was briefly banned in the city.

Residents of many European cities, like Barcelona, Spain, and Venice, Italy have also been raising concerns about overcrowding during peak summer months and beyond. Countries throughout Europe have been bringing in record numbers of visitors.

But it’s not just an aversion to heat and crowds that’s leading to changing travel patterns.

For younger generations, more flexible work policies are helping some consumers, even those with children, take trips outside of late spring and summer. Baby Boomers, meanwhile, are armed with piles of cash and plenty of time, giving them more flexibility for travel.

“Delta’s target demographic tends to be a little bit older and a little bit wealthier,” Arinder said.

Setting sights on Sicily

United is pushing the limits of the offseason trend.

It’s extended its nonstop flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Palermo, Sicily, through Dec. 16, rather than ending it in September, with Boeing 767s.

Sicily has long been marketed as a summertime destination.

Daytime highs can regularly reach 90 degrees Fahrenheit along the coast with little, if any, rain in July. In December, however, the highs sometimes barely touch 60 degrees on the Italian island and rain is more likely.

As hotel rates drop and crowds at major attractions decline in the winter, United is making a bet that travelers will fill up the three-times-a-week service even without the ideal summer weather.

The view from the ancient theater of Taormina on the Italian island of Sicily.

Reda | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

“I don’t think it’s that experimental. I think it’s a really safe bet ” United’s Quayle said.

Many coastal hotels also close during the winter months. The Four Seasons’ San Domenico Palace, in Taormina, Sicily, where the second season of HBO’s “White Lotus” was shot, closes in mid-November through early spring, for example.

However, manager Imelda Shllaku told CNBC that in the past four years the hotel has had a “remarkable increase in bookings from U.S guests” in March, April, October and November.

“High-net-worth travelers are increasingly seeking experiences with genuine cultural currency, and Sicily’s shoulder season is simply better suited to delivering them,” she said by email, pointing to behind-the-scenes tours of Noto in southeast Sicily and nighttime trips to Mount Etna. The hotel will reopen March 1, a spokeswoman said.

Delta is planning to extend its flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Catania, on the east coast of Sicily, through Jan. 3, compared with Oct. 24 last year. And it plans to resume the route on March 8, 2027. This year, it started the route on May 1 and May 21 in 2025.

Shoulder season

United and Delta aren’t alone, as airlines across the board are redeploying some of their biggest planes to maintain service to Europe for the full year or well into the offseason.

“When airlines are looking to purchase aircraft, they have to think about ‘How are we going to use this airplane year-round because it’s an expensive piece of machinery,’” said Brett Snyder, founder of Cranky Flier blog and Cranky Concierge travel agency. “They know in the summer they won’t have a problem sending these widebodies to Europe. Now they can stretch that further into the shoulder season.”

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines, which recently debuted its first service across the Atlantic this year to London, Rome and Reykjavík, Iceland, is keeping this in mind. President and Chief Financial Officer Shane Tackett told CNBC that travelers are becoming more flexible.

“A lot of people want to go see the same destinations … [and that] makes it like very logical that those seasons would start to spread,” he said. “Maybe when I was growing up, my parents wouldn’t have even thought of taking me out of school in September, and I think maybe parents are a little more like, ‘Yeah, let’s go somewhere fun, and you’ll catch up on school when you get back.’”

An American Airlines Boeing 777-223ER takes off from Barcelona-El Prat Airport, in Barcelona, Spain, on April 29, 2026.

Joan Valls | Nurphoto | Getty Images

American Airlines, for its part, is stretching some of the seasons of U.S. trans-Atlantic travel.

October “is not as strong as June or July to Europe, but it’s becoming a peak month for us,” said Brian Znotins, the carrier’s senior vice president of network planning.

But American doesn’t want to push planes too far off their proven track record for ski-and-sun-seeker vacationers in winter, he said.

“I’m not going to mince words: January and February are still very off-beat months. I would hate to have anyone come away and say that they’re good months, they’re just less off-peak than they used to be,” he said.

Some travelers split the difference.

Atul Mehta, a finance executive based in Chicago, said he is taking his family to Portugal this summer shortly before school resumes, but said when he visits family in Bahrain in the winter “we have taken them out of school.”

Insolvency Service to use AI to catch rogue phoenix directors

Published

49 minutes ago

6 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Insolvency Service to use AI to catch rogue phoenix directors

The Insolvency Service is to deploy artificial intelligence to root out rogue directors who deliberately fold their companies to dodge tax and walk away from their debts, but the agency has admitted its new taskforce cannot fix an £800 million problem on its own.

The chancellor committed £25 million over five years in November’s budget to fund a 50-strong unit dedicated to investigating suspicious company insolvencies. Its target is so-called “abusive phoenixism”, the practice of liquidating or dissolving a company to escape tax liabilities and creditors, only for the business to rise again under a new corporate shell.

Phoenixism accounted for 22 per cent of the £3.8 billion in total tax losses in 2022-23, according to HM Revenue & Customs estimates, and the practice has long been a source of frustration for the small firms left unpaid when a customer or supplier collapses and quietly reappears under a new name.

Dave Magrath, director of investigation and enforcement services at the Insolvency Service, said enforcement outcomes were “really important” but warned they would not be enough. “On their own, they won’t solve the problem. The problem is a much greater one and it probably needs some of our policy people to really think about that tension between [directors] starting [companies] again and phoenixism.”

The taskforce, which began work in April and expects to be fully operational next year, grew out of joint work between HMRC, Companies House and the Insolvency Service. It will lean heavily on technology to find its targets. “We’re looking at the hundreds of thousands of companies that dissolve every year,” Magrath said. “We need some tech power to help us hone in and find the needle in the haystack around where the harm is.”

The move follows a damning National Audit Office report in 2024, which found that some small businesses were easily exploiting weaknesses in government systems to evade tax and that there had been a lack of focus on phoenixism. The watchdog, which also warned that small businesses account for around 80 per cent of UK tax evasion, revealed that the Insolvency Service had disqualified just seven directors for phoenixism between 2018-19 and 2023-24, out of 6,274 disqualified directors in total.

As part of the drive to ban more rogue directors, the Company Directors Disqualification Act is set to be amended, following a recent consultation, to widen the circumstances in which law-breaking directors can be struck off. The reform sits alongside Companies House’s rollout of identity verification for directors, another measure aimed squarely at phoenix operators.

Recent cases illustrate the scale of the abuse. The owner of a Burton fire alarm installation company was banned after paying himself almost £400,000 across two companies while handing HMRC just £5,368, while an Oxfordshire landscaping boss ignored his director ban and left £300,000 in unpaid tax across two companies. In one of the more extreme examples, a director linked to more than 400 companies was banned for nine years for helping struggling firms subvert the insolvency system.

Magrath acknowledged the difficulty of striking a balance between allowing entrepreneurs who fail for legitimate reasons to try again and clamping down on abuse, particularly at a time when the country is “striving for economic growth”. He said he hoped the “heart of the solution” would come from the recent civil enforcement consultation, which could see restrictions applied to directors with a pattern of repeated, harmful failures in lower-level cases, while still allowing them to “contribute to the economy”.

Caroline Sumner, chief executive of R3, the trade body for restructuring, turnaround and insolvency professionals, welcomed the taskforce as a response to “a longstanding issue”.

“Phoenixism undermines confidence in the business environment and can leave creditors, including small businesses and HMRC, out of pocket, so co-ordinated action is essential,” she said. “Measures such as strengthened identity checks for directors and improved data sharing should make it easier to identify and act on misconduct.

“Ensuring that the director disqualification regime is robustly applied and that there are sufficient resources and powers to pursue repeat offenders will be critical to the taskforce’s success.”

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

Business

Centene: How Paperwork Disrupted An Entire Sector

Published

60 minutes ago

6 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Centene: How Paperwork Disrupted An Entire Sector

Business

Essential Gear for Extreme Climbs: Technical Packing List

Published

2 hours ago

6 July 2026

NewsAdmin

Essential Gear for Extreme Climbs: Technical Packing List

When you are standing on the side of a frozen peak, miles from civilization, your gear is your lifeline. In extreme mountain environments, the margin for error is zero. A single equipment failure or an inadequate layer of clothing can quickly turn an exciting expedition into a survival situation. For any climber preparing to tackle high-altitude summits, packing the right technical equipment is just as important as physical conditioning.

The Three-Layer Clothing System

The key to staying warm and dry in the mountains is layering. The three-layer system allows you to regulate your body temperature as your exertion levels and the weather change. Your base layer sits directly against your skin and must be made of moisture-wicking materials like merino wool or synthetic polyester — never wear cotton, as it retains sweat and will leave you freezing when you stop moving. The mid layer is your insulating layer; fleece jackets, active insulation, or lightweight down sweaters trap warm air close to your body. Finally, the outer layer is your protective shell — a high-quality, waterproof, and windproof Gore-Tex jacket and pants will shield you from howling winds, heavy snow, and rain. Mastering this system means you can adapt to rapidly changing mountain weather without overheating or freezing.

Technical Footwear and Traction

Your feet are your most valuable asset on a climb. Investing in high-quality mountaineering boots that are compatible with crampons is non-negotiable. These boots must be stiff enough to support your ankles on steep slopes and insulated enough to prevent frostbite in sub-zero temperatures. In addition to boots, you will need reliable crampons for traversing glaciers and icy slopes, and an ice axe for self-arrest in the event of a slip. Ensuring you have the best mountaineering gear for traction is critical for navigating technical terrain safely. Poorly fitted or inadequate footwear is one of the leading causes of accidents and injuries on high-altitude expeditions.

Safety and Navigation Essentials

Never venture into extreme environments without a comprehensive safety kit. This includes a high-output headlamp with extra batteries, a fully stocked first-aid kit, a multi-tool, and reliable navigation tools. While GPS devices and satellite messengers are incredibly useful, always carry a traditional map and compass as a backup, and know how to use them. A high-quality climbing helmet is also essential to protect your head from falling rock and ice, which are common hazards on steep mountain faces. Additionally, carrying a lightweight emergency bivy sack can be a lifesaver if you are caught out in deteriorating weather conditions and need to shelter in place until conditions improve.

Nutrition and Hydration Gear

Maintaining proper nutrition and hydration at altitude is critical for performance and safety. Carry a reliable water filtration system or purification tablets to treat water from mountain streams. High-calorie, lightweight snacks such as nuts, energy bars, and dried fruit provide the fuel your body needs to keep moving. An insulated water bottle or hydration bladder will prevent your water from freezing in sub-zero temperatures. Proper nutrition and hydration management, combined with the right technical gear, form the complete foundation of a safe and successful high-altitude expedition.