Scotmid has teamed up with Scotland Food & Drink to give producers the chance to win one of five promotional listings across the convenience store’s Scottish sites in a newly-launched local favourites competition.

Applications are now open to all Scottish food and drink suppliers across different product categories, with the shortlisted products to be reviewed by an expert judging panel. The five winning products will be rewarded with a promotional slot for a three-week period in Scotmid stores during 2022 trading.

The announcement comes during the Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight, an annual celebration of Scottish produce across the retailing, supply and hospitality industries.

“At Scotmid, we are committed to supporting Scottish suppliers and developing long and lasting relationships with them,." Scotmid's local sourcing manager, Kirsty George said. "Our customers are very receptive to new Scottish products so it's great to be working with Scotland Food & Drink to bring this opportunity to local producers.

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"Each year, Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight provides us with a platform to celebrate the amazing local suppliers we currently work with, so we are delighted that we can give more producers across Scotland the chance to break into the retail market."

Helen Wallace, UK market development manager at Scotland Food & Drink, added: “Scotmid has demonstrated a solid commitment to supporting Scottish suppliers over the years and this competition is a brilliant representation of the importance of developing and nurturing those relationships.

"Access to retail for new and evolving products is critical for the growth of the sector and initiatives like this are important to allow a foot in the door for smaller producers."

The deadline for applications is Monday October 4. Five winning products will be selected and listed over the 2022 trading period. 

House prices continue to rise despite loss of tax breaks

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Latest monthly figures from Halifax show a sharp rise in UK house prices last month even after the partial withdrawal of tax breaks on property purchases.

House prices rose by 0.7 per cent in August, the biggest month-on-month rise for three months and following a 0.4% rise in July. In annual terms, house price growth cooled to 7.1% from 7.6% in July, the weakest reading for five months.

The number of property purchases slumped in July when a year-long exemption from stamp duty for the first £500,000 of a house purchase ended in England and Northern Ireland. But other gauges of the housing market suggest the gradual expiry of the tax breaks has not resulted in a sharp slowdown.

READ MORE: Scottish house prices jump by record amount as 'normality' returns to the marlet

"We believe structural factors have driven record levels of buyer activity – such as the demand for more space amid greater home working," Halifax managing director Russell Galley said.

"These trends look set to persist and the price gains made since the start of the pandemic are unlikely to be reversed once the remaining tax break comes to an end later this month."

Last week, rival mortgage lender Nationwide said its measure of UK house prices rebounded surprisingly strongly in August to show their second-biggest monthly rise in 15 years after a fall in July.

Pace of chain store closures has quickened in Scotland

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The scale of the impact on the retail sector from the pandemic has been underlined by new research which reveals chain store closures quickened in Scotland in the first half of the year.

Nearly 800 chain stores closed their doors in Scotland between January and June this year, a period marked by protracted lockdown north of the Border, while just 344 opened.

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