BID Leicester has today launched The Leicester Gift Card to give a boost to the city’s high street retail and hospitality businesses.

The gift card, which can be purchased at values between £5 and £500, can be spent in more than 100 city centre businesses. Outlets participating in the scheme include high street chains, independent shops, restaurants, pubs, cinemas and hotels.

“The Leicester Gift Card is an exciting scheme, designed to give shoppers the choice of the city centre whilst protecting local spending,” said Simon Jenner, Director of BID Leicester.

“With the number of businesses in the city centre accepting the card increasing every week, we are expecting it to become a popular present choice for birthdays, special occasions and even corporate gifts – what better way for employers to show their support for their city? Customers can use the Gift Card flexibly, spending the balance in one go or in different businesses over time.

“It’s a particularly significant time for customers to think twice about how and where they are spending their hard earned money – there is an increased awareness of the importance of supporting local businesses, and the Leicester Gift Card will harness this sense of pride and support of all things Leicester to assist the recovery of the city from the recent crisis and to a prosperous future.

“We are confident the number of participating businesses will continue to grow over the coming months. By accepting the card, businesses are opening themselves up to an additional revenue stream and potentially a new audience of customers who discover them after being gifted a card. There’s no downside, so I encourage businesses owners who are not yet on board to get in touch today to complete the quick and easy sign up process.

“The Leicester Gift Card will take the pain out of shopping for the hard to buy for, give its recipients the gift of choice and help to support the local economy – it’s a win, win, win situation.”

There are already over 100 businesses in the city centre that will accept The Leicester Gift Card, including national high street chains such as John Lewis, The Perfume Shop, Boots, WH Smith, Hotel Chocolat, Ernest Jones, Flying Tiger Pandora, and Marks & Spencer.

Independent businesses are also participating, with redemption outlets such as Set, Manhattan 34, Wellgosh, Chutney Ivy, 23 Wine & Whiskey, Prana Café, Healthy Route and Harriman & Co.

The team from independent shop The Very Bazaar on Silver Street welcome the new scheme. “We’re so pleased to join The Leicester Gift Card scheme. It is a great way to draw people back to Leicester city centre and we are ensuring that local independent shops will benefit. Helping customers find the perfect item in our shop is our passion, so we love that it encourages shopping in person rather than online. We hope to welcome many new customers who have discovered our store after being gifted a card.”

The Leicester Gift Card works much like any other shop gift card customers are familiar with – they simply choose the amount they wish to load on the card. The card can then be given as a present to colleagues, friends, or family members.

Unlike other gift cards, the credit on the card is not limited to one location and can be redeemed at any of the participating businesses in the BID Leicester area. Additionally, the total card value can be spent in multiple transactions at multiple businesses, giving customers the gift of choice. The cards can only be redeemed in-store, encouraging customers to come out and support their local businesses in person. Each card is valid for 12 months from the date of issue giving plenty of opportunity to attend the city centre.

Other local gift card schemes exist across the country, supporting local economies and businesses. Last year, over 22,000 town and city gift cards were sold across the UK, with the average card value being £45. Colin Munro, Managing Director of tech firm Miconex, the company working with BID Leicester on The Leicester Gift Card, commented:

“BID Leicester is proactively finding solutions to keep money in the local economy and drive recovery at a pivotal time for our high streets. We’re delighted to be working alongside BID Leicester for the launch and are very much looking forward to continuing to support the program to lock in money for Leicester businesses.”

The Leicester Gift Card is available now and can be bought online at: theleicestergiftcard.com – once ordered, cards are send out via post.