Aldens Fishmarket has been at the Osney Mead industrial site in Oxford since 2008 and is open all week, barring Mondays.

The popular spot is used by locals in the city and beyond for all their fish and seafood needs, with a wide variety of produce always in stock.

After 18 years, Aldens Fishmarket has found a new home, just around the corner at Meatmaster.

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Matthew Alden (left) with his father, Richard Alden. (Image: Photo: Oxford Mail)

Matthew Alden, managing director of Aldens Catering Butchers, which dates back to 1793 and of which the fish market is a part, welcomed the change.

Explaining the reasoning behind the swap, he said: “The fish market needed major investment, which we were planning last summer.

“However, the landlord decided to double the rent, meaning the investment needed was commercially unviable.

“Instead, we reconfigured the existing space we had at Meatmaster and invested heavily in the space, enabling us to move the fish market.”

The 51-year-old revealed that the switch, which saw the new site open on Tuesday (April 21), has benefited the business.

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The former Aldens Fishmarket building. (Image: Newsquest)

“This investment has enabled us to offer some more amazing fish products,” said Matthew.

“It has given customers a unique shopping experience where they can buy amazing meat, fish, fruit and veg served by fantastic and knowledgeable staff.

“But more importantly, the move has protected jobs, and we are currently looking for more people to join the team.”

Since its opening this week, the new fish market has had “incredible” feedback from customers, added Matthew.

A popular feature for many years at the old address was the Fish 4 Lunch restaurant upstairs, which offered fish and chips on Fridays and Saturdays.

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Aldens staff Andrei (left) and Jack (right). (Image: Aldens)

This has now been closed temporarily due to the move, but will return in the new location in the summer.

Established in 1793 by Isaac Aldens, Aldens Catering Butchers has remained a family-owned business.

The company, originally based at Eastwyke Farm, has always been in Oxford.

Right up until the 1970s, beef, lamb and pork were reared and slaughtered on the farm and transported to the Aldens shops in Oxford’s historic covered market.

Throughout the 20th century, the butchers gained popularity, supplying a growing number of local restaurants and colleges.

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A sign directing customers to the new spot in Oxford. (Image: Newsquest)

Matthew was appointed in 2003, taking over from his father, Richard.

Back in 2020, Aldens won the contract to supply the Houses of Parliament in 2020.

“We are thrilled to be working with the Houses of Parliament from January,” said Matthew at the time.

“It allows us to continue our commitment to investment in our staff, customers, the local economy and the future of the company.”

Canva has added official PEPPA PIG content to its platform through a collaboration with Hasbro, following more than 1.4 million searches for PEPPA PIG on Canva over the past 12 months.

The agreement brings more than 60 PEPPA PIG templates to users across 18 regions. The collection includes designs for parents and families, such as birthday invitations, reward charts, party printables and social posts, as well as materials for early years teachers including worksheets, flash cards, certificates, presentations and posters.

Canva has also introduced a UK-specific set of marathon support templates built around Daddy Pig. These include customisable posters, social media frames and cheer signs for families supporting runners.

The launch adds another entertainment brand to Canva’s library as it expands its range of licensed content. With 265 million monthly active users in 190 countries, the platform has been broadening its appeal to consumers, educators and fan communities through branded material.

The partnership follows Canva’s earlier deal with Disney, which also brought established characters onto the service. The addition of PEPPA PIG suggests children’s and family entertainment properties are part of its strategy to drive more activity around everyday design tasks.

Brand demand

User interest appears to have shaped the rollout. Searches for PEPPA PIG content on Canva passed 1.4 million in the past year, indicating an existing audience for character-based templates before any official material became available.

PEPPA PIG is a longstanding children’s brand with reach in more than 180 countries, giving Hasbro an established audience among young families and schools. By placing the character into editable templates, the collaboration connects that audience with common use cases such as birthday parties, classroom activities and milestone celebrations.

For Canva, that matters because these tasks sit at the centre of its consumer and education business. Much of its growth has come from users creating invitations, worksheets, posters and social graphics with pre-made templates rather than starting from scratch.

Morgan Selzer, Global Head Content Partnerships at Canva, said: “Canva’s goal is to make visual storytelling feel effortless for everyone – from first-time creators to seasoned teachers. This collaboration marks an exciting evolution in our content library as we continue to build out our branded content as a way to spark imagination and delight our community. Whether you’re creating something playful, sentimental or inspirational, we’re so excited to see how people bring a little PEPPA PIG magic into the world through their designs.”

Education focus

The education angle is notable. Early years teachers are among the groups explicitly targeted in the collection, with ready-made classroom materials that can be adapted for lessons and activities. That places PEPPA PIG not only in family settings but also in school environments where familiar characters can be used in learning resources.

Hasbro described the collaboration as an extension of how the brand is already used in everyday family life. The templates are intended to help parents, teachers and fans create materials that feel more personal to home and classroom moments.

Matt Proulx, Senior Vice President of Global Experiences, Partnerships and Music at Hasbro, said: “PEPPA PIG has always been about helping kids build confidence through everyday moments, from muddy puddles to big milestones, while creating opportunities for families to connect through play. Bringing PEPPA PIG to Canva is a natural extension of that. It gives parents, teachers and fans simple, creative tools to engage with the brand in ways that feel personal, whether they’re creating something for a classroom, celebrating a moment at home or just having fun together.”

Platform strategy

The collaboration also points to a broader shift in how digital design platforms compete. Access to well-known intellectual property can help attract users who might not otherwise start a design project. Familiar characters give people a clear reason to search, edit and share, which can increase time spent on the platform and open up more content categories.

Canva has been extending its offering beyond basic template design through a mix of content partnerships, workplace tools and artificial intelligence features. In this case, users can customise the PEPPA PIG templates by changing text and colours, then share or print the finished design from within the platform.

That combination of licensed content and simple editing tools reflects Canva’s effort to make branded design material part of routine consumer use. The immediate test will be whether PEPPA PIG fans, parents and teachers turn strong search demand into regular template use for family events and classroom work.

With more than 60 templates now live across 18 regions, the collaboration gives Hasbro a new digital outlet for one of its best-known children’s brands and gives Canva another recognised franchise as it works to make fandom-led creation a regular part of its service.

Creditinfo has acquired full ownership of Latvian credit bureau KIB Latvia, raising its stake from 51% to 100% after a 13-year partnership.

The deal gives the London-headquartered group full control of the bureau’s Latvian operations and deepens its presence in the Baltic market. It also ends a shareholder structure that included several of the country’s major banks.

Credit bureaus sit at the centre of consumer and business lending markets, supplying data that banks and other lenders use to assess borrowers and manage defaults. Full ownership of KIB Latvia gives Creditinfo direct oversight of a business that helps shape how credit data is shared and used across Latvia’s financial system.

Creditinfo plans to increase investment in the local market and expand the bureau’s services. This includes data products for financial institutions, businesses and consumers, as well as broader activity in business information, fraud and identity services.

Latvia is part of a Baltic banking market where lenders face pressure to strengthen risk controls while extending access to finance. Credit bureaus have become more important as regulators, banks and fintech companies place greater emphasis on data quality, identity checks and credit transparency.

Against that backdrop, full ownership gives Creditinfo more scope to align local operations with its regional strategy. The group said the move would support stronger data sharing, risk management and responsible lending practices in the market.

Satty Saha, Group Chief Executive Officer at Creditinfo, said the acquisition reflected a long-term commitment to the country.

“This acquisition reflects our long-term commitment to Latvia and our confidence in the market’s continued growth,” said Satty Saha, Group Chief Executive Officer, Creditinfo Group. “With experience across 30 regions worldwide and strong innovation capabilities, we are well-positioned to deliver greater value to Latvia’s financial services ecosystem and support better-informed decision-making for businesses and consumers alike.”

The transaction also marks a shift away from local banking shareholders. Elari Tammenurm, Regional Director for Continental Europe at Creditinfo, named Swedbank, SEB, Citadele and Luminor among the shareholders involved in the process.

“We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our fellow shareholders – Swedbank, SEB, Citadele, and Luminor – for their constructive collaboration throughout the process. We also greatly appreciate the support of our advisors at COBALT in Estonia and Latvia. We’re excited about the future and expanding access to finance in the region,” said Elari Tammenurm, Regional Director, Continental Europe, Creditinfo Group.

Established in 1997, Creditinfo operates in more than 30 regions through credit bureau and related data businesses. Its operations span credit information, business information and risk management services for lenders, public bodies and other institutions.

The Latvian deal fits a broader pattern of consolidation and expansion among data providers serving financial markets. Companies in the sector are seeking closer control of local assets as demand rises for credit data, fraud screening and identity verification, particularly in smaller European markets where banking systems are digitising quickly.

In Latvia, the ownership change may matter most in the day-to-day operation of the credit bureau. A single owner can move faster on investment decisions, product development and regional integration than a consortium structure, especially as services expand beyond traditional credit reporting.

Creditinfo said its planned development in Latvia would include enhanced analytics, digital services and consumer-focused products aimed at improving access to credit. It also plans to keep investing in technology, staff and partnerships in the country as it integrates the bureau more closely into its wider Baltic and European business.