Your commercial news round-up: holiday prices, Royal Mail, British pubs, biodiesel plant closure
updated on 10 July 2025
Reading time: three minutes
UK holidaymakers are facing steep price hikes for summer getaways, while Royal Mail is cutting Saturday second-class deliveries as part of a major overhaul. Meanwhile, Britain’s pubs are closing at a rate of one per day amid mounting financial pressures and biodiesel distributor Greenergy is shutting down one of Britian’s biggest plants. Read on for the full scoop of this week’s top commercial news stories!
- UK travellers are facing steep increases in the cost of package holidays to popular destinations, including Spain, Turkey, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus. The average price for an August 2025 package holiday in Cyprus saw a 23% increase (£950 to £1,166 per person) compared to August 2024, while trips to the United Arab Emirates jumped by 26% to £1,525. Other countries in the top 10 most-searched destinations such as Spain, Greece, Turkey and Portugal also experienced price rises, while Italy and Tunisia were the only destinations to experience price drops. According to travel agents, holidaymakers are booking shorter stays or travelling mid-week to save on costs. CEO of travel agent industry group Advantage Travel Partnership, Julia Lo Bue-Said, commented: “These increases simply keep pace with the broader cost of doing business and reflect the reality of higher operational costs, from increased energy bills affecting hotels, to elevated food costs impacting restaurants and rising wages across the hospitality sector.” Despite the rising costs, Lo Bue-Said observed that holidaymakers still had money to spend, with some customers opting for all-inclusive packages and more expensive cabin seats on long-haul flights.
- Royal Mail is due to stop delivering second-class letters on Saturdays from 28 July, as part of a cost-cutting overhaul approved by Ofcom. Second-class letter delivery will be limited to either Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or Tuesday and Thursday, while first-class mail will maintain a six-day delivery. The move follows fewer letters being posted each year, from a peak of 20 billion letters delivered by Royal Mail in 2004/05 to 6.6 billion in 2023/24. In addition, the prices of stamps have continued to increase and despite Royal Mail raising its prices, the postal service reported a loss of £348 million in 2023/24. Ofcom's group director for networks and communications, Natalie Black, said: “These changes are in the best interests of consumers and businesses, as urgent reform of the postal service is necessary to give it the best chance of survival.”
- Pubs across Britain are shutting down at an alarming rate, with one closure per day projected for 2025, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA). The BBPA has estimated that 378 pubs in England, Scotland and Wales could close this year, leading to a loss of 5,600 jobs. The warning follows “eye-watering” costs for pubs, including high business rates, beer duty and VAT, and national insurance contributions. The BBPA CEO Emma McClarkin said: “Pubs are trading well but most of the money that goes into the till goes straight back out in bills and taxes. For many it’s impossible to make a profit, which all too often leads to pubs turning off the lights for the last time.” McClarkin added that “it’s not too late to change this” and called on the government "to proceed with meaningful business rates reform, mitigate these eye-watering new employment and EPR costs, and cut beer duty”.
- Greenergy, one of the UK’s largest biodiesel distributors, has announced plans to shut down its Immingham plant in Lincolnshire. The plant is said to supply up to 25% of the country’s biodiesel. The decision follows a temporary shutdown of the facility in May and mounting market challenges, including competition from subsidised US imports. Greenergy CEO Adam Trager said the decision was “incredibly difficult”, adding that the company does “not have enough certainty on the outlook for UK biofuels policy to make the substantial investments required to create a competitive operation at Immingham”. Trager explained: “We are seeking urgent talks with ministers about increasing the amount of biofuels used in the UK’s petrol and diesel.” The proposed closure is subject to a consultation process with the refinery’s 60-strong workforce.
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