Horwich Advertiser Issue 633

Page 20 March 2026 AD SALES 01204 478812 BUSINESS TO ADVERTISE CALL 01204 478812 £ SOLE traders and landlords earning more than £50,000 from self-employment and property have just weeks left to prepare for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. From April 6 those eligible will need to use recognised software to keep digital records and send HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) light-touch quarterly updates of their income and expenses. These are not extra tax returns. At the end of a tax year, those within MTD for Income Tax will still need to file a tax return by the following January 31 – but the software will already hold the information from the quarterly updates, meaning no last-minute hunt for records or receipts. Craig Ogilvie, HMRC’s director of making tax digital, said: “A range of software is available and the system is straightforward and helps reduce errors. Thousands of volunteers have already used it successfully. “This will make it easier for sole traders and landlords to stay on top of their tax affairs and help ensure everyone pays the right amount of tax. Spreading your tax admin throughout the year means avoiding that last minute scramble to complete a tax return every January.” HMRC says thousands of sole traders and landlords have already signed up for MTD for Income Tax, with more than 12,000 quarterly updates successfully submitted through a voluntary testing programme. Those joining MTD in April 2026 will still file their tax return for the 2025 to 2026 tax year in the usual way by January 31, 2027, as this covers the period before MTD begins. The first MTD tax return, cov- ering the 2026 to 2027 tax year, will be due by January 31, 2028. To support the transition, the government has announced that customers joining MTD for Income Tax in April 2026 will not receive penalty points for late quarterly updates, for the first 12 months. Under the new system, penalty points will be given for each late submission, with a £200 penalty only applied once four points are reached. This means occasional slip-ups won’t result in immedi- ate fines. Group is only based a few miles away in Leyland so we quickly became aware of their plans to close Travel Republic and Netflights. “My first thought was for the peo- ple who may lose their jobs. Then I realised there were going to be some good people looking for roles so I made contact to see how we could help and it snowballed from there. “We weren’t looking to hire. We’d done all our recruitment for the financial year 2025/26 to hit our current business plan. “However, we reached out, organ- ised an open day and here we are. “These are really good people with lots of experience both in the roles that they do but also in travel and they’re based near to Panache’s head office in Chorley. “These opportunities aren’t going to come up very often. We’re a grow- ing business and this will enable us to bring forward our international expansion plans. “I’m also delighted to be able to welcome Sarah Allen as people and culture director and Wendi Hardy as the new events and customer loy- alty manager. “We’ve got ambitious plans to grow our sales in the US and estab- lish a presence in both Australia and Canada. These 10 new hires will speed up that process.” The news comes after Panache agreed a £2.75million refinance package with HSBC UK. Panache Cruises has grown turn- over by 64 per cent to £43m in the last 12 months – and is on track to top £50m in revenue by the end of their financial year in May 2026. New staff support for Panache’s growth journey New faces: James Cole with Panache’s new recruits Law firm is on the up LAW firm Clough & Willis has reported a highly suc- cessful 2025 – with strong growth across all practice areas resulting in a 14 per cent increase in firm-wide fees. The firm, based in Bolton and Bury, experienced a particularly notable performance in its corpo- rate team. Share sales and purchases rose by 14 per cent, alongside a 33 per cent increase in company reor- ganisations, reflecting sustained demand from growing and restruc- turing businesses across the region. In residential conveyancing, the firm continued to build on its strong reputation, with both sales and pur- chases increasing by six per cent – despite ongoing challenges in the wider property market. Clough & Willis’ employment team saw “exceptional growth”, driven by increased demand from both employers and employees. Settlement agreement matters rose by 109 per cent, highlighting the firm’s expertise in navigating complex workplace issues. Its family team also reported steady growth, with a 10 per cent increase in divorce matters, as clients continued to seek trusted legal support during challenging personal circumstances. Meanwhile, the commercial property department deliv- ered one of the firm’s strongest Growth focus: Managing partner Lee Marston Digital tax – the deadline looms LUXURY cruise retailer Panache Cruises stepped in to hire eight staff from dnata Travel Group after it announced plans to close its Travel Republic andNetflights consumer brands. The new recruits have more than 150 years’ experience between them in the travel industry and join the Chorley-based company after a period of record growth. The new additions are head of sales Luke Roberts; partnerships manager John Poulton; senior graphic designer Darren Woodcock; head of TV and content Amanda Parker; content and website man- ager Vicky McNeil; partnerships manager Ryan Norman; CRMman- ager Wayne Pashley; and partner- ships executive Lauren Joyner. In a separate move, Sarah Allen has joined from Morson Group as people and culture director and Wendi Hardy is the new events and customer loyalty manager after nine years at Scenic and Emer- ald Cruises. James Cole, founder and chief executive of Panache Cruises, said the recruitment drive reflected a ‘significant six figure investment’ and would enable the business to bring forward its international expansion plans. He said: “The travel industry is very close knit and dnata Travel THE increasing demand for data centres, supercharged by the relentless rise of AI, is driving major growth for safety seal manufac- turer Roxtec. The company has recorded its busiest 12 months to date in the sector and is currently working on more than 40 data centre projects across the UK and Europe. New figures reveal the group’s global sales in the data centre sector increased by 89 per cent in 2025. Roxtec, whose UK and Ireland operation is based in Bury, is now gearing up for even more demand for its specialist products as the AI powers record data centre growth for firm Sealing solutions: Roxtec is a global leader leader in the manufacture of innovative cable and pipe transit systems. It provides specialised seals for cable and pipe penetra- tions that secure data centres against fire, water entry and air leakage and protect against elec- tromagnetic interferences that can create outages. Ever-larger data centres, which house the supercomputers power- ing AI systems, have increasingly high energy efficiency needs. At the same time, climate change and environmental challenges in the UK and Europe are intensifying. Together, these factors are mak- ing resilience more important than ever for the sector. need for AI, cloud computing, and digital services continues to accelerate. The company is the global performances of the year, report- ing a 127 per increase in fees and an 86 per cent rise in newmatters, underlining robust activity across development, investment, and com- mercial leasing work. LeeMarston, managing partner, said: “It has been an outstanding year for Clough & Willis. These results are a testament to the com- mitment and expertise of our teams and the trust our clients place in us. We have continued to see strong demand across all departments, and the growth achieved reflects our focus on providing practical, high-quality legal advice while investing in our people and services. As we move into 2026, our focus is firmly on sustainable growth and continuous improvement. We will continue to invest in our teams, develop our service offering, and ensure we are well placed to sup- port clients as their needs evolve.”