Barratt Redrow misses homebuilding target as affordability hits demand July 15, 2025 Housebuilder Barratt Redrow has built fewer homes than its target after affordability pressures continued to hit demand for new houses. The company, which was formed by a merger of Barratt and Redrow last year, said that total home completions for the 52 weeks ended June 29 reached 16,565. It had aimed for between 16,800 and [...]
Close Brothers drops brewery arm amid operations overhaul July 15, 2025 Close Brothers is set to sell off its specialist service provider division for the beer industry as the banking group continues to overhaul operations. The FTSE 250 listed group established Close Brewery Rentals Limited (CBRL) in 2007, which provides keg and cask rental, leasing, and management services for breweries and beverage producers. The division offers [...]
UK firms unprepared for Companies House crackdown July 15, 2025 Significant changes are set to come into effect at Companies House over the next few months, but new research shows most managers are unprepared for the transition. With key provisions of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) about to take effect, new research from Vistra reveals that only 28 per cent of UK [...]
First-time buyer demand for furniture and the ‘lipstick effect’ boost June sales July 15, 2025 Demand for furniture and beauty goods caused retail sales to rise in June, boosted by good weather and slowly-recovering consumer confidence. Sales in the UK rose 3.1 per cent year on year in June, against a decline of 0.2 per cent in June 2024, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). “Retailers will [...]
Mansion House speech: Could Chancellor turbo-charge sport? July 15, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Mansion House speech this evening could turbo-charge overseas investment into UK sport, say industry experts. The speech, in front of City grandees, is set to confirm a so-called government “concierge service” for wealthy investors aimed at providing advice on visas, regulation and other barriers to entry. The service could help overseas investment [...]
Exclusive: Panmure Liberum to ‘reinvigorate’ City market with banking tie-up July 15, 2025 Investment bank Panmure Liberum has joined forces with Nedbank in a push to expand their reach across equity capital markets and drive dual-listings across the UK and South Africa. London-headquartered Panmure will collaborate with Nedbank’s corporate and investment banking division to produce equity research across UK and South African markets. The deal aims to provide [...]
Tax debate goes from comedy to tragedy July 15, 2025 When I suggested recently that we were going to experience déjà vu, with another summer of endless tax rise speculation, I didn’t imagine the experience would be quite so profound. And yet, having already enjoyed the spectacle last year of Labour MPs trying to define “working people” they’re now treating us to a rerun of [...]
Rachel Reeves urges Brits to buy stocks as she shuns risk-averse regulators July 15, 2025 Rachael Reeves has thrown her weight behind a campaign to get more Brits investing into stocks and shares as the Chancellor shunned the risk-averse culture of London’s financial regulators. In a wide-ranging address to City execs at Mansion House last night, Reeves vowed to place financial services “at the heart” of the government’s growth agenda [...]
FCA plots regulatory bonfire to lower costs of raising capital July 15, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority is to pare back its onerous capital raising rules as part of a regulatory bonfire aimed at helping firms grow faster. Under fresh rules set to take effect in January, the requirement to produce a prospectus for public secondary share raises will be upped from 20 per cent to 75 per [...]
Meta’s Llama: the strategic play behind the promise to democratise AI July 15, 2025 Meta has long promised to democratise AI, with Mark Zuckerberg frequently doubling down on his vision to make it “open and accessible” so that “everyone in the world benefits”. Yet instead, it’s been executing one of the most strategic power plays in Silicon Valley – wrapping its race for AI supremacy in the language of [...]