British icon in the red after Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes costs jobs October 10, 2025 John Smedley, the historic family-owned luxury knitwear brand, has been forced to raise prices and make redundancies as it battles Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes as it fell into the red. The Derbyshire-headquartered business can trace its roots back to 1784 and is currently run by the eighth generation of the Smedley family. Executive chairman [...]
Wagamama owner sheds 2,000 jobs as losses widen October 2, 2025 The owner of Wagamama shed more than 2,000 jobs as its losses widened during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The Restaurant Group, whose other major brand is Brunning & Price, has posted a pre-tax loss of £32.2m for 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show. The total comes after the business [...]
Mindful Chef: HelloFresh and Gousto rival returns to profit September 24, 2025 Mindful Chef, the meal kit business and rival to the likes of HelloFresh and Gousto, has surged back into the black and posted its first profit since 2021. The London-headquartered business has reported a pre-tax profit of £10.8m for 2024, up from the £1.7m loss it made in the prior 12 months. It also lost [...]
Rachel Reeves ‘has no interest in hospitality’ after ‘reckless’ taxes September 23, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves “has no interest in hospitality”, according to nighttime adviser Sacha Lord, who also branded her National Insurance increases in last year’s Autumn Budget “both reckless and short sighted”. Lord, who is a member of the Labour Party, said the 2024 Budget was a “disaster for hospitality” which resulted “in many closures and [...]
Oliver Bonas: ‘Growth hard to come by’ with Reeves’ tax hikes September 23, 2025 Oliver Bonas has warned the outlook for the UK economy is “not easy” and that “growth hard to come by” because of the tax rises introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Autumn Budget last year. The retailer added that its pre-tax profit fell during 2024 because of rising costs while it pins its hopes [...]
Reeves’ tax hikes ‘won’t bring inflation down anytime soon’, Smeg warns September 18, 2025 The tax hikes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in last year’s Autumn Budget will mean it is “sometime” before inflation gets down to the government’s two per cent target, the UK arm of kitchenware brand Smeg has warned. The Abingdon-based division said the increase to employers’ National Insurance contributions, which came into effect in April, [...]
Reeves’ taxes ‘incredibly damaging’ to historic family business September 16, 2025 The tax hikes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Autumn Budget are “a real setback” and will be “incredibly damaging”, one of the UK’s biggest family-owned breweries has warned. Robinsons Brewery, which has been in business in Stockport for more than 180 years, has issued a warning that 2025 will be “a much more [...]
Boardroom Uncovered: How Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget tax hikes are hurting businesses September 12, 2025 On this episode of Boardroom Uncovered, the chief executive of Butlin's has revealed where in the UK the holiday resort chain could open a new site in the future.
Princess Yachts back in profit but Rachel Reeves’ Budget forces job cuts September 10, 2025 A luxury yacht builder has surged back into profit and its sales jumped by more than £100m as hundreds of jobs were cut because of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget. Plymouth-based Princess Yachts has reported a revenue of £378m for 2024, up from the £276.3m it achieved in 2023, according to new accounts filed with Companies [...]
Brits resort to ‘job-hugging’ as tax hikes bite September 9, 2025 Workers are now resorting to ‘job-hugging’ after last year’s Labour tax raid had a chilling impact on the UK jobs market. The £40bn cash grab, unveiled by Rachel Reeves in last year’s Autumn Budget, has triggered a significant slowdown in hiring and has resulted in substantial job losses nationwide. As a result of these changes, [...]