Fed National Employee of the Year Meets Peterborough MP

Andrew Pakes, Labour MP for Peterborough, met with a local shop manager on Friday  June 19, 2026, two days after he had been crowned Employee of the Year at the 2026 Fed Awards, a celebration of excellence in UK independent retail.

During the meeting, Avda Kuchhadia, who runs Premier Neil’s, spoke about trade at the popular Peterborough convenience business which is owned by Fed member Neil Godhania. Also in attendance during the shop visit was the Fed’s political engagement coordinator Douglas Oliver.

Mr Kuchhadia explained how we had beaten competition from across the UK and Ireland for his outstanding role managing the shop, which included maximising trade, and implementing a waste reduction system that delivered measurable results as well as stepping up during challenging circumstances to keep the store running smoothly.

As part of the discussion, Mr Kuchhadia spoke about how drink and snack sales  were booming in part because of the warm summer weather and also spurred on by the start of the 2026 Men’s Football World Cup. Mr Kuchhadia also spoke about the central role the shop provides to the area, participating in charity work, community product activations and as a familiar face in the community, which is located at Tyesdale on the north side of the East Anglian Cathedral city.

The Fed team also spoke about the potential of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for recycling bottles and cans – and hopefully boosting footfall for small shops as return points – once it goes live in October 2027.

However, Mr Kuchhadia spoke about the problems caused by shop theft and the Fed’s work to highlight the need for greater resourcing for local authority trading standards to tackle the market in illegal goods like black market tobacco.

Mr Kuchhadia was recently interviewed by ITV local news where he discussed how illicit trade was undermining responsible retail and driving products like tobacco and vapes into the hands of organised crime groups. The meeting also came shortly after it was announced the Government was tackling rogue trade by extending powers to increase closure orders and provide greater eye-marked resourcing for local authority trading standards teams.

The Fed team also spoke about some of the cost pressures facing small businesses across the UK. As well as rising energy and business rates costs, these included higher National Insurance Contributions.

Mr Pakes said: “It was great to meet Avda and congratulate him on his recent award. It is clear that he does a brilliant job managing the shop and what a great role model he is for all those working in independent retail across the country. It was interesting to discuss how he uses store data to properly stock this vital community retailer I acknowledge the challenges small business face and I look forward to working with Avda and the Fed team in the months ahead to ensure we do what we can to support small shops.”

Mr Kuchhadia said: “I would like to thank Andrew for his close interest and kind words following my award. We have a great team at this business and it was good to discuss the range of products and services we provide – as well as the challenges we face with rising costs.”