Exclusive: Top transport civil servant who oversaw HS2 to step down March 19, 2025 Dame Bernadette Kelly, the top civil servant at the Department for Transport (DfT), is to step down after nearly eight years in the role. A Whitehall veteran with four decades of experience, Kelly was appointed permanent secretary in April 2017 following a stint as director general of the DfT’s rail group. She led work on [...]
Baillie Gifford slashes Tesla stake as investor calls on Musk to step down March 19, 2025 Baillie Gifford has slashed its stake in Tesla to a record low as a major shareholder has called on CEO Elon Musk to step down from the company. The Edinburgh-based investment manager first invested in Musk’s electric car company in 2013 and has been a strong backer of the billionaire’s firms ever since. However, a [...]
Treasury on the hunt for new National Wealth Fund boss March 19, 2025 The Treasury announced on Wednesday that it had begun searching for a new chief executive to lead the recently established National Wealth Fund. The policy bank’s current boss John Flint will exit the role this summer after overseeing the institution’s rebrand from the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB). Flint, who is a former HSBC group chief [...]
Unilever accused of ousting Ben and Jerry’s chief over activism March 19, 2025 Ben and Jerry’s has accused parent company Unilever of removing its chief executive David Stever over the firm’s political activism. In a court filing, the ice cream brand alleged that Unilever had violated a merger agreement by trying to silence its “social mission”, advocated by Stever. “Unilever has repeatedly threatened Ben & Jerry’s personnel, including [...]
PMQs: Starmer won’t repeat pledge to unfreeze income tax thresholds March 19, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of “plotting stealth taxes” after he failed to repeat Rachel Reeves’ pledge to unfreeze income tax thresholds. The Prime Minister was pushed on his economic plans ahead of next week’s spring statement – which Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded an “emergency budget”. During Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on Wednesday, [...]
Will Rachel Reeves hike taxes in her first Spring Statement? March 19, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to make her first Spring Statement next week, and rumours are starting to swirl that the tax hikes could be on the cards as she tries to get the government debt under control. Given the Chancellor’s commitment to just one major fiscal event a year the Spring Statement is intended [...]
Rio Tinto hits back at ‘unfounded and misleading’ pressure to ditch London March 19, 2025 Rio Tinto has hit back at calls for it to ditch its London listing in favour of Australia, arguing that claims made by an activist investor were both “unfounded and misleading.” The mining giant holds a dual-listing in the UK capital and Sydney, but has faced pressure from investors to abandon its current set up [...]
In The Style: Fast-fashion brand saved after administration collapse March 19, 2025 In The Style has been sold after collapsing into administration in a move which put hundreds of jobs at risk of being lost. FTS Recovery had been appointed to oversee the administration process at the Manchester-based company before a deal with Alps Sourcing Limited was agreed. It has now been confirmed that 87 jobs in [...]
Motor finance: Lloyds and Close Brothers shareholders await landmark hearing March 19, 2025 The eyes of shareholders at Britain’s biggest lenders will be on April’s landmark motor finance hearing, as the scandal heads to the Supreme Court. The hearing, scheduled for April 1-3, will allow car loan providers to challenge the October 2024 Court of Appeal ruling that it was unlawful for banks to pay a commission to [...]
Stressed staff cost UK professional services firms more than £4m a year March 19, 2025 Nearly half of the professional service workforce is stressed, causing significant financial impacts on businesses