Budget sparks 13 per cent jump in business insolvencies December 17, 2024 The number of business insolvencies in England and Wales rose 13 per cent in November, as the impact of the Budget continues to hit firms hard. Experts have also warned that things are not going to get better, with April’s looming Employers’ National Insurance increase leaving firms in a “perilous position”. Nearly 2,000 firms went [...]
Best cars of 2024 – From the new Aston Martin Vantage to the McLaren Artura Spider December 13, 2024 The car industry is facing strong headwinds, from import tariffs to mandated EV sales targets. Despite it all, though, 2024 has produced some genuinely exciting new cars, many of which we were lucky enough to drive. This isn’t a round-up of the ‘best’ cars of the year; many of the vehicles listed here are totally [...]
50 years on, Ford Escort RS returns as official continuation car December 12, 2024 The original Ford Escort is ready to fire back into production, some five decades after the final RS2000 was assembled. County Durham-based Boreham Motorworks, part of the DRVN Automotive Group, has revealed full details of its Escort RS Mk1 ‘Continumod’. Officially licensed by the Ford Motor Company, Boreham Motorworks’ Escort will use a continuation chassis, [...]
Kalmar 9X9 review: Exclusive drive of new Porsche-based hypercar December 11, 2024 Britain’s best-selling car in 1986 was the fourth-generation Ford Escort. In aptly named Popular spec, it had a 50hp 1.1-litre engine that could wheeze to 62mph in 18.2 seconds and nudge 90mph. The Escort brochure boasted of plastic head restraints, a lidded glovebox and ‘door panels with the unexpected luxury of cloth inserts’. Meanwhile, on [...]
Callum Skye: first look inside the radical, British-built EV December 11, 2024 Callum has revealed the interior of the new Skye – a mould-breaking, British-made electric off-roader, due in 2026. The Skye’s cabin is surprisingly spacious for a compact car, including two child-sized rear seats that fold down to boost luggage capacity. Its minimalist aesthetic is combined with high-end materials, plus near-endless scope for personalisation. I sat [...]
Games Workshop: Amazon buys rights to Warhammer 40K December 10, 2024 Amazon is set to launch a series of films and television shows based on Games Workshop’s hit game Warhammer 40,000. In a stock exchange notice this morning, Games Workshop said it had agreed “creative guidelines” and reached a deal with Amazon for it to adapt the Warhammer 40,000 fictional universe into films and television series. [...]
The Trump effect? Why super-rich Americans are moving to the UK December 3, 2024 Trump’s election victory was widely seen as a boon for America’s top one per cent, but not all of them welcome the return of the Don. Some of them are fleeing their native America, and choosing the UK as their sanctuary, writes Ali Lyon. Tom Ford and Ellen DeGeneres have plenty in common. As well [...]
30th anniversary of VCTs celebrated as 2024 raise approaches £240m December 1, 2024 The total amount of money raised through venture capital trusts (VCTs) this tax year is approaching £240m, 20 per cent higher than last year, as the investment industry celebrates the vehicle’s 30th birthday. The VCT was unveiled in the 1994 Budget, where Chancellor Ken Clarke launched the scheme, and have since raised £12.5bn, funnelling money [...]
Stellantis closure: UK carmakers face ‘global’ challenges, Reynolds warns November 27, 2024 UK carmakers are facing “global challenges”, Jonathan Reynolds has warned, in the wake of Vauxhall owner Stellantis announcing plans to close its Luton plant. The business secretary said issues in the industry amid the shift to electric vehicles weren’t limited to the firm and insisted ministers did “everything we possibly could” to avert closure. Dutch [...]
Ford boss: UK incentives needed to boost uptake of EVs for net zero November 27, 2024 The automotive industry “urgently” needs government-backed incentives to improve customer uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) or the UK faces missing its net zero targets, the boss of Ford UK has said. Speaking the morning after the government announced a consultation into its EVs sales targets for automakers, Lisa Brankin said the move was welcome but [...]