o The owner of an historic wedding venue in Cheshire, Haslington Hall, near Crewe, has been jailed for 26 weeks for a £28,000 VAT fraud. An accomplice, Andrew Tomlinson received a community order of 100 hours of unpaid work.

Mohammed Isaq, who admitted trying to steal the VAT repayments is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence for flouting fire safety rules at the Grade 1 listed venue.

o Two new easyHotels have opened in Yorkshire offering budget accommodation in city centres, and brings the group’s total to 32 in UK and overseas.

One is on Lands Lane in Leeds, has 94 rooms and was originally the Scala Theatre. The other is on the High Street in Sheffield, has 131 rooms and was originally a Primark store.

o The Good Pub Guide has named the Old Joint Stock in Birmingham city centre its Town Pub of the Year for 2019.

The pub overlooks Birmingham Cathedral and offers, say the guide’s publishers, “lively atmosphere, flamboyant interior, all-day popular food and even its own theatre”.

(Note. All above from TheBusinessDesk.com)