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Everything you need to know...

That’s all from the Business Breakfast Blog today. I’ll be back with more news from across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ each morning this week.

Before I return tomorrow, you should definitely check out some of the top stories from the BusinessLive team.

Nine big stories from the high street last week that you should know about

Game studio Gluck Gamevy offering staff unlimited holidays launches Newcastle recruitment drive

Newcastle firm Demuris developing new medicine to fight heart disease and diabetes

Wales’ oldest dairy farming co-operative post record sales

Dapper dressing: How Master Debonair became a retail fashion phenomenon

'New PM should walk the walk and back small firms', says small business commissioner

The small business commissioner has called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “walk the walk” and back small businesses against the crippling impact of late payments for larger firms.

Paul Uppal told PA that Mr Johnson needs to cast aside previous negative rhetoric about business and justify previous claims that small firms are the “backbone of the British economy” through policy.

Mr Uppal made the appeal to the Prime Minister as he warned that small firms need greater support from government over late and delayed payments.

Business groups have warned of a rise in longer and delayed payments in recent years, but Mr Uppal said that pressure from business-owners and customers have made it inevitable that the situation will improve.

Both the small business commissioner and the Chartered Institute of Credit Management (CICM), which operates the Prompt Payment Code, have increased scrutiny on poor payment practices in recent months.

Firms have been named and shamed by the watchdogs over their failure to meet payment standards, and public denouncements of poor behaviour will continue to be more regular, they confirmed.

Large º£½ÇÊÓƵ firms such BT, BAE Systems and Holland & Barrett have been called out over poor payment behaviour by the watchdogs over the past year.

Mr Uppal said:

The issue of late and delayed payment isn’t going away. We need to continue to shine a light on this issue, but now we have received a great response, and people won’t let this issue get forgotten about.

My message to the Prime Minister is that small businesses have heard themselves be described as the backbone of the economy, so I want him to walk the walk and ensure they are supported.

Mr Uppal’s message comes amid consultations into the future of the prompt payment code, which was launched in 2008 to address the issue of small business payments.

Large companies signed up to the code must promise to pay 95% of their invoices within 60 days.

Philip King, the chairman of the CICM which currently operates the code, said he thinks it is likely that government will place it under the small business commissioner’s responsibilities at the end of the review.

He said:

The consultation is currently taking place, and I think it will work to the benefit of small businesses.

I believe the Government is taking this issue more seriously than they were before, which will only help to improve the behaviour of large firms more widely.

East Midlands: Self-parking car test facility to be created in the Midlands

Construction work has started in Warwickshire on the first facility in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ to develop and test self-parking cars.

Nuneaton-based global engineering firm, HORIBA MIRA has teamed-up with Coventry University to create the ‘Trusted Autonomous Parking’ (Park-IT).

It involves the creation of a multi-storey car park, on-road parking bays and parking lot environments at the MIRA Proving Ground on the edge of Nuneaton.

When it is up and running the facility will provide real-world parking situations to support the development of self-parking cars.

The parking areas will be co-located in the HORIBA MIRA City Circuit, a safe, comprehensible and fully controllable purpose-built ‘cityscape’ test track environment.

The facility will provide an environment for the transition from an urban driving environment into a dedicated parking facility.

Read more about the project here.

Tesco quietly building support for online sales tax

Tesco has been quietly building up supports for its plans to overhaul business rates, with the firm’s finance chief writing a series of letter to bosses of rival retailers.

Dave Lewis, Tesco’s CEO, wants the Government to cut business rates by 20% and make up the shortfall by charging online retail sales a 2% levy.

Alan Stewart, Tesco’s head of finance, has written to rivals asking them to support the plans publicly.

According to sources, Mr Lewis has been speaking to retailers at industry events in an attempt to win over their support.

One source said:

Whenever Dave has received positive feedback, he is getting Alan to write a follow-up. Lots of retailers agree with him.

It comes as Tesco announced a huge 4,500 round of redundancies, several months after cutting a further 9,000 jobs - with business rates blamed in some quarters for the need to cut costs.

Retailers have complained that online rivals, including Amazon, Asos and Boohoo, are able to undercut the high street because the rates on rural warehouses are far lower than in town centres.

Rates are calculated based on the rental value of the property. Co-op is one of the supermarkets which is supportive of Mr Lewis’s plans.

Asda workers to protest against new contracts

Hundreds of workers at supermarket giant Asda are to stage a protest against new contracts they say will make them worse off.

Members of the GMB union will gather in Leeds on Wednesday to voice their opposition to the so-called Contract 6.

The GMB said workers face being dismissed in early November if they do not sign the contracts.

It said under the new contracts, workers will not be paid for any breaks and will have to work on bank holidays and weekends.

Justin Bowden, GMB national officer, said:

In the boardroom it may be all about the bottom line but out in the stores this is about real people’s lives being pulled apart with often devastating consequences.

This is about values and reasonableness and respect for hard-working staff from a billion-pound company.

Telling dedicated workers to sign up no matter what the consequences to their personal lives or lose their jobs in the run-up to Christmas is truly shocking.

Asda must get round the table, negotiate with GMB and stop Contract 6 ruining people’s lives.

An Asda spokesman said:

The retail sector is undergoing significant change and it is important that we are able to keep pace with these changes.

The overwhelming majority of our colleagues have signed onto the new contracts and while we appreciate that some of our colleagues find the changes more unsettling, we do not want any of them to leave.

This contract is about increasing the take-home pay of more than 100,000 retail colleagues through an investment of more than £80m and ensuring that everyone doing the same job is on the same terms and conditions.

North West: Dragon’s Den star selects Manchester activity box enterprise to showcase at retail fair

A Manchester-based subscription box company has been selected by Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis to showcase at one of Europe’s largest retail fairs.

Our Little Globe, which sends out activity boxes themed to a country or place each month, won a free stand at the Autumn Fair, which will take place in September at Birmingham NEC.

The business was co-founded by friends Erin Rodgers and Fiona Neate in 2017, with help from a loan from the Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme, when they were both on maternity leave.

Ms Rodgers told the M.E.N:

We both felt we hadn’t fulfilled our potential in the career side of things and in the business side of things.

We were very much aware how big the subscription market was and continued to be in America and we knew that it was growing over here.

But there wasn’t really anything catering for children and parents who wanted to receive something each month they could enjoy together.

Find out more about the entrepreneurs here.

Thomas Cook in advanced talks over extra £150m funding for rescue deal

Troubled travel company Thomas Cook is in advanced talks to raise £150m from bondholders after making “progress” over the terms of a rescue deal.

The tour operator is looking to secure the cash injection on top of a £750m deal it has already agreed with Chinese firm Fosun to attempt to secure the future of the company.

Thomas Cook has suffered recently as a result of mounting debts, reporting a £1.2bn net debt in its half-year results in May.

It has also been hit hard by an influx of online competitors which has resulted in oversupply, forcing tour operators to cut prices.

Last month, Thomas Cook announced that majority shareholder Fosun would recapitalise the company, with additional funding from its lending banks.

The travel firm said the additional cash boost would ensure further liquidity headroom for the difficult winter period.

In a statement to investors, the company said:

The discussions with noteholders include the injection of additional capital on top of the previously announced £750m.

This additional capital, of approximately £150m, will provide further liquidity headroom through the coming 2019-20 winter cash low-period and ensure the business can continue to invest in its strategy.

Thomas Cook said its original £750m funding deal - which included £450m from Fosun, with the rest from lenders - would give the company sufficient liquidity to cover its costs for the rest of the year.

In the aftermath of the funding deal, Thomas Cook’s shares slumped further, amid fears that shareholders would be all but wiped out by the refinancing.

Thomas Cook is expected to split in two as part of the deal, with Fosun likely to take a majority stake in the tour operator business and a minority stake in Thomas Cook’s airline business.

The travel firm started a sale process for its airline arm earlier this year, as it looks to secure further funds.

Surge in luxury car imports ahead of Brexit

The number of luxury cars imported into the º£½ÇÊÓƵ from the EU increased by 16% in the past year, a new study suggests.

The rise was blamed on the prospect of added taxes in the event of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ leaving the EU without a deal.

More than 3,800 luxury cars were imported in the past year, compared with 3,297 in the previous 12 months, said law firm Boodle Hatfield.

Fred Clark, of Boodle Hatfield, said:

A no-deal Brexit could mean luxury car imports become 32% more expensive overnight.

There is a possibility that moving cars into and out of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ will become more difficult if the º£½ÇÊÓƵ leaves the EU with no deal.

More individuals are now taking that risk seriously and bringing vehicles into the º£½ÇÊÓƵ from the EU.

Leisure leaders invest £350,000 into all day Newcastle bar and dance hall Market Shaker

A trio of leading Tyneside leisure operators have come together to launch a new all-day bar, dance hall and beer garden in the heart of Newcastle.

The former Ember Lounge premises in Newcastle’s Cloth Market was acquired several months ago by the former owners of gastro pub Jam Jar in Jesmond – Rob Clarkson and Lloyd Riddell – and the owner of the Dog & Parrot in the city centre, Tommy Byron.

Since then it has been subject to a total strip out, removing some 20 tonnes of rubble and fixtures and furnishings, ahead of a major transformation exercise.

Now the entrepreneurs are investing £350,000 into the venue ahead of a planned August Bank Holiday weekend opening under a new name, Market Shaker.

The site pledges to become a creative space for eating, drinking and dancing, serving up craft beer, cocktails and pizza by the slice to a backdrop of disco, funk and soul.

Independent breweries and national favourites have signed up, including local favourite Wylam Brewery, and Scream for Pizza will also take up residency.

Read more about the investment here.

FTSE and pound update

The FTSE-100 index opened at 7253.85.

The pound at 8am was 1.2042 dollars compared to 1.2083 dollars at the previous close.

The euro at 8am was 0.9306 pounds compared to 0.9285 pounds at the previous close.

NatWest trials voice banking with Google smart speaker

º£½ÇÊÓƵ bank customers will soon be able to control their online banking using just their voice, thanks to a new scheme being trialled by NatWest.

The bank is using Google’s voice-powered helped, Google Assistant, to see if its possible for banking to be carried out using just a customer’s voice.

The trial will allow customers to ask Google Home smart speakers for details about their banking, such as their current balance and recent spending.

It is hoped the scheme could be as useful as mobile banking and could lead to additional functionality for blind customers.

The pilot will be tested by 500 people over three months. It will respond to eight questions but will also provide access to more than 15 banking tips.

Kristen Bennie, head of NatWest’s Open Experience digital innovation centre, said:

We are exploring voice banking for the first time and think it could mark the beginning of a major change to how customers manage their finances in the same way mobile banking made a huge impact.

This technology will make it easier for people to bank with us and could bring particular benefits to those who have a disability as voice banking eliminates the need for customers to use a screen or keyboard.

This is one of a number of services that the bank is aiming to develop this year that uses cutting edge, innovative technology to better serve our customers.

According to a recent Ofcom report, one in five households in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ now own a smart speaker, such as the Google Home, Amazon Echo or Apple HomePod - an increase of 7% from 2018. It found almost seven in 10 use a smart speaker to listen to music via a streaming service - making it the most common use of smart speakers - while little over half listen to live radio and a fifth to podcasts.

Google Assistant is also available on smartphones, meaning users can ask for information about their finances in the same way, but details will appear on screen too.