Into Tier 2: The top business stories from Hampshire and Dorset

Next week, we'll be out of lockdown. But we now know that we'll be living with harsher rules than we had to deal with before November 5.

Time will tell whether the measures will be enough to prevent another spike in coronavirus cases - but many business people have voiced frustration at the rules.

The hospitality trade was already facing a Christmas without office parties, while one nightclub owner predicts 'catastrophe' unless more aid is forthcoming.

In yet another reminder of the impact Covid is having on the economy, two of Dorset's leading tourism businesses are making redundancies. Meanwhile, the national pub group Mitchells & Butlers has axed 1,300 jobs and another pub group, Fuller's, is looking at a "tough winter".

Other top business stories this week

• The cruise industry is in hibernation at the moment. But Southampton is confident enough in its future to have announced that a ï¿¡55m fifth cruise terminal will open in the city in 2021. Maria Zaccaro reported the news and the reaction.
• Many independent retailers have continued to offer goods for collection during the second lockdown. It's been an uphill struggle against the online giants and the supermarkets, but there have been some instances of customers coming back from Amazon.
• While many small traders have struggled to compete with Amazon, the digital giant has pointed out that several hundred small businesses in Dorset alone do business on its platform, including 500 exporters.
• Cineworld secured some financial leeway to keep it in business as we wait for film-going to become a habit again.
• The pandemic could "turn the clock back a generation" when it comes to the gender pay gap, we were warned, as new data on the subject emerged.
• Employees at a manufacturer which has 400 staff in Southampton are 80 per cent more productive than the average, according to a report which credits the value of the firm's intellectual property.
• A Dorset business park which is home to defence giant BAE Systems is to be sold for ï¿¡29m.
• Bournemouth-based Amigo is in our headlines most weeks lately. The guarantor loan company has warned there remains "material uncertainty" about its future, with complaints continuing to flood in.
• Another nationally known Bournemouth business, the baby and toddler food brand Organix, has a new boss.
• Many of us have been less physically active in the Covid crisis. One Hampshire company has done a deal with Fitbit which could help businesses to get their staff exercising.
• A lot of people in corporate human resources are increasingly inclined to go it alone as consultants. That's according to a woman who has trod that path and has written a book to help others do the same.
• Three manufacturers in Poole have been named among the south's top manufacturers.
• Nationwide pledged earlier this year that there would be no departures through compulsory redundancy and no branch closures in 2020. Its deputy CFO told us that there will be a restructuring but insisted the business would not look radically different.
• A car dealership group saw record used car sales after it introduced a "click and go" service during lockdown.
• A ship repairer is one of the few businesses to have increased its revenue from the cruise industry after moving to the Port of Southampton.
• A Dorset business has provided vital support to a wheelchair table tennis player who hopes to represent Britain at the Commonwealth Para Games.
• And a financial planning business is marking its 10th anniversary by handing out ï¿¡10,000 to good causes.

Someone else's content

Some chambers of commerce have really come into their own during the pandemic.

Among them is Dorset Chamber, whose chief executive, Ian Girling, has been offering simple guides, on video, to the raft of law, guidance and government support that has been coming at us since March. I've been struck by the way he and his team have digested a lot of official information and shared it generously, without making it gated content that only members know about.

My choice of someone else's content this week is Ian's simple guide to what Tier 2 means in practice.

You're brilliant - but is that news?

Everyone who creates content needs to think like a journalist. By that, I mean they need to find a compelling story rather than broadcast about their brilliance. It's the subject of my latest article about how you can share your news with the the media.

Thanks for your support

The lockdown has been tough for news publishers, just as it has for so many other businesses, with fewer people out and about to buy newspapers.

As always, we really appreciate everyone who supports our journalism by taking out a digital or print subscription to the Southern Daily Echo, the Daily Echo Bournemouth or the Dorset Echo.

Until next time, stay safe.