A decision by supermarket Sainsbury’s to extend its credit payment to UK suppliers from 30 days to 75 days for settlement of their accounts after delivery of goods combined with a Chinese manufacturer being paid 50% with order and 50% before the goods leave Chinese shores, exemplifies the arrogance and opportunism of the great and the good in our society.
Cash flow is the lifeblood of businesses and small businesses in particular but this kind of preferential treatment which favours Chinese manufacturers is damaging and in some cases killing our own manufacturers.
A supplier to a large supermarket will take an order in June from the supermarket (say Christmas baubles) and order them from China with 50% cash ‘up front’. The Chinese manufacturer fulfils the order and the second 50% of the cash is sent to China before the order leaves the docks. On arrival in the UK the supplier processes and delivers the goods to the supermarket (say September/October). 30 days, and up to 120 days later the supplier is paid for the order.
The Chinese manufacturer has produced the goods and the UK supermarket has retailed the goods all at the expense of the supplier working on UK bank money. It is a cash flow nightmare.
Is it any wonder that the Chinese have huge investments in UK and US government loan stock (gilts) earning interest on what is essentially our money, having been paid in advance for goods that the British retailer/supplier is paying interest on, at a far more exorbitant rate, before waiting what will now be 75 days from Sainsbury’s, to get paid for their endeavours.
Why is this government telling energy suppliers how much profit they should earn when their so called economic advisers do not appear to have pointed out the very basic shortcomings of business enterprise where Sainsbury’s can even think they can get away with arbitrarily moving from a 30 day to a 75 day account settlement regime, which is damaging our own home-based suppliers.
China has all the money because it demanded it in its terms of trade. British manufacturers are poorly resourced because they have contracts drawn up by ‘clever’ lawyers that allow this payment injustice to be perpetrated. It is wrong and if Mr Cameron and his government would divert their focus from the energy companies to the small business sector then they might well be able to put those clever lawyers out of business.
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Terence O’Halloran is a chartered financial planner of Lincoln-based O’Halloran Financial Management Services.
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The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
Two men have been arrested in Grimsby after a woman fell from a first-floor window in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Humberside Police were called to a property on Freeman Street following reports of a disturbance at 5.40am on Thursday morning.
When officers arrived it was discovered that a woman had fallen from a first-floor window.
The woman was taken to hospital to receive treatment for a head injury, which is not believed to be serious.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the incident, and officers are continuing enquiries to ascertain the circumstances that led to the woman falling.
A scene guard has been put in place on Freeman Street near to Riby Square and members of the public are being asked to avoid the area while police investigate.
If you have any information or may have witnessed the incident, call 101 and quote incident 67 of October 28.
Pumpkin the puppy received devastating news at an MRI scan on Wednesday, as it was discovered that she would be paralysed for life and her condition would not improve.
The Lincolnite has covered the progress of Pumpkin the paralysed puppy ever since her owner Tammie Fox told the story of her near three-month old West Highland Terrier on October 12.
She was born paralysed without the use of her back legs, and Tammie decided to start a fundraiser to help get her dog some new wheels to help her move around, as well as specialist veterinary care to see if anything could be done to help Pumpkin.
Looking good Pumpkin! Here she is posing with her cool new wheels. | Photo: Tammie Fox
Her fabulous walking wheels were then donated less than a week later by local charity Winston’s Wheels, and over £5,000 was raised for the treatment she needed.
Pumpkin travelled to Surrey on Wednesday, October 27 for an MRI scan with one of the best vets in the country, and the results were not what owner Tammie Fox had been hoping for.
Pumpkin’s back legs are limp and without feeling. | Photo: Tammie Fox
The scans found that her spine had been completely broken and fused back together in a “mangled mess”, and her back legs were basically backwards.
These results mean that she is paralysed from the waist down and will be for life, her situation will not improve and cannot be operated on.
Tammie hasn’t had Pumpkin long, but they are inseparable. | Photo: Tammie Fox
Pumpkin also has some new rubber shoes to protect her feet. | Photo: Tammie Fox
Pumpkin will require physiotherapy and hydrotherapy for the rest of her life due to the “extreme trauma” on her back and legs, which the vet said was the worst he had ever seen.
It isn’t clear how this has happened, but it was confirmed to Tammie that it was the fault of the breeder she came from.
Pumpkin also needs to wear nappies and rests on puppy pads for when she needs the toilet. | Photo: Tammie Fox
Tammie said it has left her “devastated and in shock” but vows to give Pumpkin the best quality of life possible.
She said on Wednesday evening: “We love Pumpkin puppy and we will give her everything she needs and wants. We will make sure she lives a happy life.”
She’s great at making new friends, even cats get on with her! | Photo: Tammie Fox
The positive to come from this is that Pumpkin will not require any further surgery, and the focus for Tammie is now to kit her out with a new pink set of wheels and book her physiotherapy.
As well as this, Tammie is planning some lovely holidays for Pumpkin to take her on some nice walks to the seaside with her new wheels.
Tammie has decided to close the GoFundMe and will donate any money left over from the veterinary care to local dog charity Breeds in Need Rescue UK.
The fundraiser managed to accumulate an incredible £7,500 in just over two weeks, and Pumpkin’s story has clearly resonated with many, as her Facebook page stands at close to 2,000 likes.
Pumpkin is a Terrier puppy that was born paralysed, meaning she cannot properly use her back legs. | Photo: Tammie Fox
The Leader of Boston Borough Council believes a Museum of Brexit would “provide a wealth of opportunities for the town” if it is chosen as the final location.
The trustees of the Museum of Brexit said earlier this month that they’re now deciding between Boston or Peterborough after 17 months of locational research, market trawling and site visits across the UK.
The location decision will be announced in early 2022 and the museum will open by late 2023, according to The Telegraph. The building earmarked for Boston, which had the biggest Brexit vote majority (75.6%) back in 2016, has not been disclosed at this stage.
In a statement to The Lincolnite, Councillor Paul Skinner, Leader of Boston Borough Council, said: “The potential for a Brexit Museum to be located within Boston provides a wealth of opportunities for the town, our community and our visitors.
“It also complements the ethos of the Town Investment Plan’s Town Centre Regeneration proposals by bringing our fabulous heritage buildings back to life to become vibrant visitor attractions that are also community hubs for learning and skills.”
There is a possibility that the museum, if located in Boston, will be home to several community groups who will benefit from the building and close ties with the professionals working there.
The proposed museum will celebrate the links between the UK and Europe. Boston is well positioned to do this as a centre of trade with Europe spanning hundreds of years.
There will also be opportunities to link learning and culture, to strengthen community involvement in pride of place through understanding the historic role Boston has played, both as part of the Hanseatic League, and more recently in the Brexit debate.
The Museum of Brexit describes itself a project that is “supported by many on both sides of the referendum question, and aims to provide a fair and balanced view of the campaign and what led up to the campaign”.
Meanwhile, the council plans to bid for city status as part of a competition launched by Queen Elizabeth II.
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