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Potholes cost Oxford taxi firm more than £240,000 a year

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001 Taxis, which is in St Aldate’s in Oxford city centre has told this newspaper it has spent thousands of pounds on fixing pothole damage for its 500-vehicle fleet, of which 90 are company cars.

In April alone, the business forked out £25,000 on car repairs.

Manager Jay Akhtar says these figures have increased dramatically in the last couple of years due to the state of Oxfordshire’s roads.

Suspension related issues cost a minimum of £15,000 a month, including replacing or fixing shock absorbers, control arms, bushes, and track rod ends.

These figures don’t include its annual £65,000 bill it spends on replacing 1,200 tyres and its £120 MOT charge per car – and that’s if there are no faults.

READ MORE: Former Oxford pub tenants in £30,000 debt enter liquidation

001 Taxis in Oxford says it spends more than £240,000 on repairs caused by Oxfordshire potholes (Image: 001 Taxis)

Oxfordshire County Council revealed that between February 20 and April 19, a total of 13,760 potholes were fixed by repair teams with the rest being dragon patcher repairs.

In total, it said 24,330 repairs have been completed while 4,725 are still waiting attention.

But RAC research found Oxfordshire County Council had 488 claims made against it in 2021 and 1,941 in 2024, a 297 per cent increase in three years.

Mr Akhtar says he is being “deprived” of good roads which is doubling his business costs.

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He said: “In my 55 years of life I’ve seen what the roads were like and what they’re like now and  I’m not angry, I’m furious because it’s costing the business money and I can’t change the taxi fare prices.”

Mr Akhtar says he feels “ripped off”, estimating he spends approximately £30,000 a year on taxing his vehicles and £4,000 a year on taxi plate registration.

“The only reason why the suspension gets his so hard is purely because of potholes”, he said.

“For example, on my 1995 car, I only had to change the shocks and springs four years ago.”

He refers to roads he has driven on, comparing them to the current state here.

A pothole on the Southern Bypass (Image: FixMyStreet)

Mr Akhtar said: “I’ve driven on roads near Italy which were sweet as dust. I didn’t hit a pothole for nearly 12 miles.

“Up until now the roads were fine and being built properly as money was being invested into them.

“Now, it makes me sad to say but what’s so great about Great Britain because the people are being deprived.”

He added: “We are struggling but if we don’t do what we need to do, the drivers and passengers will be in dangerous cars.”

Oxfordshire County Council has been contacted for a comment.

The council previously announced declared plans to resurface more than one million square metres of road by late June 2026.

The council has utilised special repair teams, dragon patcher repairs and bobcat patching machines to fix the counties potholes.





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Rosa’s Thai is giving away 4000 free Pad Thais to students

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Celebrating both GCSE and A-Level Results Days, the chain will offer the popular dish to students who buy one of its bubble teas.

The free offer is available at all 42 Rosa’s Thai restaurants across England and Wales.

To avail of the free noodles, students need to register on Rosa’s Thai website for a unique code, which they should present at the restaurant together with a copy of their results.

Rosa’s Thai has a new range of bubble tea flavours, including Ube-Taro, Matcha-Coconut, Mango Sticky Rice, and Milo Chocolate Milk, as well as favourites like Home-brewed Thai Tea with Tapioca, and Lychee Mango with mango boba.

Students can sign up for their free Pad Thai at rosasthai.com/result-day-free-pad-thai and find their nearest restaurant at rosasthai.com/locations.





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Historic coin company enters administration after 20 years

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The London Mint Office, which distributes commemorative coins and medals, appointed administrators on July 31 after 20 years in business.

The company’s website now displays a message confirming the appointment of Michael Magnay and Jonny Marston of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP as joint administrators.

A spokesman for Alvarez and Marsal said: “On July 31 2026, Michael Magnay and Jonny Marston of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP were appointed as Joint Administrators of The London Mint Office Limited in administration (the “Company”).

“Regrettably, the Company’s liquidity challenges have led to a number of immediate redundancies. We are supporting the affected employees through the redundancy process.


What Happens When a Company Goes Into Administration?


“The affairs, business and property of the Company are being managed by the Joint Administrators who act as agents of the Company and without personal liability.”

The announcement confirms that it is no longer possible to purchase coins or medals through the company’s website.

The London Mint Office operates a distribution centre in Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, where it employs a significant number of people.

Administration is a formal insolvency process triggered when a business cannot meet its financial obligations.

An insolvency practitioner is appointed to manage the company’s affairs and may attempt to restructure the business or sell off assets to repay creditors.


What happens when a company goes into Liquidation?


Founded in 2006, The London Mint Office describes itself as “one of the UK’s most trusted suppliers of historic, commemorative, and collector coins.”

It is part of Samlerhuset AS, a Norwegian company based near Oslo and one of Europe’s largest distributors of commemorative coins and medals.

Samlerhuset’s website states that it offers “provide a wide range of coins from ancient to modern, originating from virtually every country in the world.”

The London Mint Office has advised anyone with an interest in the company’s assets to contact the administrators at INS_THLMOL@alvarezandmarsal.com.





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Warning of new rules for Aldi and Lidl after watchdog review

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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally decided that both discounters should be added to the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010, which currently applies to Asda, Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose.

This order is designed to prevent large grocery retailers from using land agreements to block competitors from opening nearby stores, often through restrictive covenants or exclusivity terms.

Juliette Enser, executive director of competition enforcement and markets at the CMA, said: “We want everyone to have the best choice of supermarket and range of prices when buying their groceries.

“To ensure this happens, we put rules in place to prevent big supermarket chains blocking rival stores from opening nearby – and now we propose applying those rules to Aldi and Lidl too.

“This is about allowing shoppers to choose where they spend their money and levelling the playing field for all major supermarkets.

“Today’s proposals are provisional and we welcome views before deciding the best way forward.”

The CMA’s review found that Aldi, Lidl GB, and Lidl NI now meet the criteria of ‘Large Grocery Retailers’ (LGRs) due to their store footprint, nationwide presence, procurement model, and the breadth of their grocery range.

Aldi and Lidl were originally excluded from the 2010 order as ‘limited assortment discounters’, offering a smaller selection of products compared to traditional supermarkets.

However, the CMA’s provisional findings indicate that this is no longer the case.

All three now operate large grocery stores, each with more than 1,000 square metres of shop floor space, and offer a full range of products, though with less category choice than some competitors.

They also purchase goods directly from suppliers through integrated wholesaling.

With the UK grocery market estimated to be worth £215 billion, Aldi and Lidl are now ranked among the top five retailers by market share.

The CMA is seeking feedback from stakeholders before reaching a final decision.

Aldi and Lidl could join the other supermarket chains later this year.

The CMA is inviting views until 5pm on Monday, September 7, 2026, and will issue its final decision in the autumn after reviewing responses.

If the discounters are included under the order, they will be prevented from using land agreements to limit competition from other supermarket chains.

The CMA aims to ensure competition across the grocery sector to give shoppers more choice and competitive pricing by removing obstacles to new store openings.





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