Business
‘Families can save £200 a month at Hull community shop’
Natalie Bellin Bransholme, Hull
BBCFamilies living on a council estate say a new “social supermarket” will help them make ends meet.
The shop at North Bransholme Community Centre sells surplus food, with packs of fruit, vegetables and bread costing as little as 20p a time.
It can be used by anyone who lives in the area, receives means-tested benefits and applies for a free membership.
On its opening day this month, hundreds of people visited the store to buy food at about a third of the cost charged by most supermarkets, with bosses estimating it could save a family more than £200 a month.
Kirsty Armstrong, a mother of two, said the store took the pressure off the worry of doing a weekly food shop.
“Even though you work, it can still be really hard just to buy the simplest of things like fruit.
“I’ve spent about £6 and I’ve got bread, fruit and I am thinking about stuff in my basket that can be kept frozen.”
James Trott, 67, was one of the first customers through the doors and plans to use the shop regularly.
“It helps me out being on a pension because you’ve got your gas and electricity, water, rent and council tax to pay for and it’s really hard for everyone on the estate who is on benefits,” he said.
“I’ve just got a tin of beans for 60p, they would have been double in another shop.”
The store is the 15th of its kind to be opened across the UK by the Community Shop Group, a social enterprise.
Products are donated by food industry partners from surplus stock due to overstocking or seasonal packaging. All are still in use date.
Gary Stott, the executive chairman, said as well as supporting people in the Bransholme area, it was helping to tackle food waste.
“Surplus food does occur and we can take that in and we can relabel it and get that on sale,” Mr Stott said.
“We’ve got a retail store with 600 product lines where the average basket spend is about 30% of the retail price, and so as a family you can save £212 a month on your shopping bills.
“Even though we are a small convenience store, 30% of our basket is fruit and vegetables. That means families can come and make really healthy choices at an affordable price.”
The group said profits from the shop would be reinvested into a community hub, which aims to support members to learn new skills.
Meanwhile, a community kitchen and cafe sells breakfasts and lunches for £1.50, along with free children’s meals all year round.
Carol Redfern and her mum were among those enjoying refreshments.
She said: “To be able to come here and get quality food cheaper, it means a lot.
“My mum lives with me, she is disabled, so we are not on a lot of money.
“You can come here and have something to eat and the kids eating free is brilliant.”
Figures from Trussel, the anti-poverty charity, suggest more than 700,000 people in Yorkshire and Humber faced hunger in the past year due to a lack of money, with one in 10 people in the region living in households classed as “food insecure”.
David Daniels, who is 73 and receives disability benefits, described the community store as “a needs must in this day and age”.
“I think financially it will help a lot of people,” he said. “It takes away from food banks as well.
“People can pay reduced prices and you can get quality goods.”
Beermaker BrewDog could be broken up after consultants were called in to help look for new investors.
The Scotland-based brewer, which makes craft beer such as Punk IPA and Elvis Juice, has appointed consultants AlixPartners to oversee a sale process.
Last month, BrewDog announced it was closing its distilling brands, sparking concerns for jobs at its facility in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.
The company, which was founded in 2007, said it made the decision to focus on its beer products.
No decision has been made in respect of the sale process.
A spokesperson for BrewDog said: “As with many businesses operating in a challenging economic climate and facing sustained macro headwinds, we regularly review our options with a focus on the long-term strength and sustainability of the company.
“Following a year of decisive action in 2025, which saw a focus on costs and operating efficiencies, we have appointed AlixPartners to support a structured and competitive process to evaluate the next phase of investment for the business.
“This is a deliberate and disciplined step with a focus on strengthening the long-term future of the BrewDog brand and its operations.
“BrewDog remains a global pioneer in craft beer: a world-class consumer brand, the number one independent brewer in the UK and with a highly engaged global community.
“We believe that this combination will attract substantial interest, though no final decisions have been made.
“Our breweries, bars, and venues continue to operate as normal. We will not comment on any further speculation.”
Brewdog operates 72 bars around the world as well as four breweries.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has raised serious concerns over how real estate regulatory authorities are functioning across the country. Taking a sharp view, the top court said it may be “better to abolish” these bodies, suggesting they have failed to protect homebuyers and instead appear to benefit defaulting builders. The court added that states should reconsider the very need for such authorities if they are not serving their intended purpose.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said states should rethink the original purpose behind introducing RERA. The court observed that instead of protecting homebuyers, the law appears to be helping defaulting builders and not serving its intended role.
Expressing strong concern, CJI Surya Kant said states should reflect on the purpose for which RERA was created. He suggested the institution is failing to serve homebuyers and instead appears to benefit defaulting builders. “All states should now think of the people for whom the institution of RERA was created. Except facilitating builders in default, it is not doing anything else. Better to just abolish this institution,” CJI Kant said, quoted by Bar and Bench.
Last year, the High Court had stayed the state government’s decision to shift the RERA office, pointing out that the move was taken “without even identifying an alternative office location”. The court also noted that transferring 18 outsourced employees to other boards and corporations, as requested, “would render the functioning of Rera defunct”.
The Supreme Court, however, set aside the High Court’s order and allowed the state government to shift the RERA office to Dharamshala. It also permitted the relocation of the appellate tribunal to the same location. “With a view to ensure that persons affected by Rera orders are not inconvenienced, the principal appellate is also moved to Dharamshala,” the apex court said.
What Is RERA And Why It Matters
RERA, introduced in 2016, was aimed at addressing project delays, improving transparency and safeguarding homebuyers’ interests. Earlier, each state and union territory operated its own RERA website. However, in September 2025, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched a unified RERA portal that brings together data from across states and UTs on a single platform.
Last Updated:
SEBI proposes stricter base price and band rules for gold, silver ETFs, including cooling-off periods after sharp global price swings to curb volatility.
Amid Global Commodity Volatility, SEBI Plans New Price Band Rules for Gold, Silver ETFs
The market regulator has sought to curb extreme volatility in gold and silver Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) by proposing changes to the base price and price band framework. Currently, there are no separate price bands for ETFs aligned with their underlying assets, making them vulnerable to sharp price movements.
The proposal comes after sharp volatility in gold and silver ETFs triggered by fluctuations in global commodity prices. On some days, these ETFs fell by over 15%, while on others, they recorded sharp gains.
Stock exchanges currently apply a fixed price band of plus or minus 20% on the base price of ETFs, except for Overnight ETFs investing only in TREPs, which have a price band of plus or minus 5%.
Moreover, the base price for applying price bands to ETFs is taken as the T-2 day closing Net Asset Value (NAV) by exchanges, instead of the T-1 day closing NAV or price, as is the case with indices and individual stocks. This creates a challenge, as the closing NAV of ETFs typically differs between T-1 and T-2 days. Corporate actions such as bonuses and dividends are adjusted manually, increasing the risk of errors.
What Are the Key Proposals?
SEBI has proposed that the base price be determined using either the closing price of the ETF on T-1 day (weighted average price of the last 30 minutes), the closing NAV of T-1 day, or the average indicative NAV (iNAV) of the last 30 minutes of T-1 day.
Further, the regulator has proposed an initial price band of plus or minus 10% for equity and debt ETFs, which can be flexed up to plus or minus 20%. A cooling-off period of 15 minutes will apply, and up to two flexes will be allowed in a day.
For gold and silver ETFs, the regulator has proposed an initial price band of plus or minus 6%, which can be flexed up to plus or minus 20%. This will also include a 15-minute cooling-off period.
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February 14, 2026, 16:08 IST
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