Immaculate timing by the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce means the assistant director of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Clive Jones, will be the guest speaker at a breakfast briefing on Thursday in Peterborough – just four days after Red Tape Day, when some 82 new pieces of Government legislation came into force.

We all know the burden of red tape and taxation on city businesses has grown remorselessly for years.

Figures released by the chamber show this year the cost to firms in the east of England of Government regulation will total £6.9 billion.

It is the third largest figure in the UK – topped only by London and the south east.

And as ET Business, jointly with accountants Saffery Champness, revealed last month, Peterborough companies can expect to pay an extra £10 million into Government coffers as they are hit by a double tax hike with rises in the rate of Corporation Tax for small firms.

So Thursday's breakfast briefing is at the very least a delightful opportunity for business leaders to make their feelings heard by the Government and at best maybe a chance to secure a change of heart.


ANOTHER week, another Thomas Cook acquisition.

Well it is certainly beginning to feel that way. Since the £8 billion merger of Peterborough's Thomas Cook with rivals MyTravel last summer, the pace set by chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa has been relentless.

He has completed several multi-million pound deals culminating in yesterday's acquisition of luxury holiday firm Elegant Resorts (see above) and some far-reaching changes to the company structure.

It is all part of a four-pronged strategy that was spelt out last November by Mr Fontenla-Novoa – our Business Person of the Year award winner – with a key goal being to improve the returns for shareholders.

Yet a cursory glance at the Bretton-based firm's share price performance could well raise a questionmark or two over the success of this strategy.

Last summer, the share price stood at 302p. It plunged to its lowest level on January 22 – down to 207p. That was followed by a rally to its peak of 320p by February 28, and then it dipped to 280p in March. It rallied again to 302p at the time of writing.

Investors might be wonder if they are seeing a proper return on their investments. However, placed in the context of the financial turmoil that has sent stock exchange values plummeting by about 12 per cent since last summer, the Thomas Cook performance is certainly solid.

In addition, Thomas Cook has embarked on a £393 million buyback of its shares. It is a smart move. Reducing the number of shares in circulation means a greater share of the same pot when it comes to dividend payout time.

Shareholders get a chance to voice their views at the company's annual meeting on Thursday.

My betting is that they will be quite content.