In light of the current trading restrictions for non-essential retailers across the UK and Ireland, the Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ) has announced that it will once again suspend its membership fees in an effort to support retailers financially.

Retailers’ membership fees to the largest jewellery and watch buying group in the UK and Ireland will be suspended for the months of January, February and March.

This follows the CMJ’s announcement in November 2020 that it was also bringing forward its retrospective rebate payment to full members. The rebate payment was made in December, seven months earlier than normal, while CMJ associate members received a one-off ex-gratia payment.

Emmet Cummins, Managing Director of the CMJ, said: “As further forced government restrictions were introduced just as retailers were entering their busiest trading period, we recognise that it is unlikely to be business as usual for some months to come. For this reason, we decided to once again provide financial assistance to our members. We hope this gesture will go some way towards supporting their businesses.”

CMJ membership fees were first suspended for four months following the first national lockdown in March 2020.