A vegan burger restaurant has been forced to closed its doors for good just over a year from launching in Manchester.
Liverpool favourite Frost Burgers arrived in the city in January 2021, offering its burgers for delivery-only as part of an exclusive partnership with Deliveroo whilst we were still in lockdown.
However, bosses soon found that demand was so high for their food that they branched out into a bricks-and-mortar unit – taking over a diner space on Portland Street and opening its own Manchester restaurant eight months ago.
Image: Frost BUrgers
Less than a year on, though, owners have now shared an emotional post announcing the restaurant’s shock closure, which will see it close permanently on 14 August after one last service.
Describing themselves as ‘devastated’, owners said that getting the chance to grow Frost Burgers was ‘amazing’ and they ‘couldn’t be more proud of the incredible team” in Manchester.
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Blaming ‘multiplying costs’ that have ‘gotten too much’ to pay their team properly, owners said they had ‘kept going as long as we could.’
They continued: “We knew expanding the business post-pandemic had its risks, but with all the support our Liverpool branch had received we were confident Manchester would be a success.
“Then the current financial situation hit: inflation, increasing food prices, energy bills, supplies and the rapid rise of cost of living has forced us into a situation we cannot come back from.
“It’s a really hard time for any small businesses and we send our love and support to all those still fighting!”
Whilst the Manchester branch will close on 14 August following one last service, the original Liverpool branch will remain open for the foreseeable future for any Manchester fans who still have a hankering come September.
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The full post read: “With heavy hearts, we are devastated to have to announce the closure of our Manchester Location. Our last day of trading will be 14th August.
Getting the chance to grow Frost Burgers was amazing, and we couldn’t be more proud of the incredible team at our Manchester branch, who have knocked it out of the park and captured what Frost Burgers is all about these last 8 months.
Image: Frost Burgers
“We kept going as long as we could for them but unfortunately the multiplying costs have gotten too much to give them what they need.
“We knew expanding the business post pandemic had its risks, but with all the support our Liverpool branch had received we were confident Manchester would be a success.
“Then the current financial situation hit: inflation, increasing food prices, energy bills, supplies and the rapid rise of cost of living has forced us into a situation we cannot come back from.
“It’s a really hard time for any small businesses and we send our love and support to all those still fighting!
“Our Liverpool branch will still be open, and we will try our best to keep that floating, so your favourite burgers aren’t lost just yet.
“If you’d like to come grab a burger and hang out with us one last time over the next couple of weeks, we’d love to see you!
“Thank You so much to everyone for all the support, it truly means the world. Much Love.”
Feature image – Frost Burgers
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Georgina Pellant -
2nd August 2022 
