UK retail sales see modest Christmas rise following Budget January 23, 2026 UK retail sales inched up slightly in December, as consumers returned to the high street for Christmas shopping after the Autumn Budget, but failed to halt an overall fall in purchases during the final quarter. Retail sales volumes are estimated to have increased by 0.4 per cent in December, following falls of 0.1 per cent [...]
Whitbread offloads £89m worth of Premier Inns to Londonmetric January 13, 2026 Hospitality giant Whitbread has offloaded a number of its Premier Inn hotels to property group Londonmetric for £89m as it looks to boost profits. The group sold nine South Eastern hotels to the group, ranging from Southampton Airport to Warwick, as part of its plan to reuse £250m-£300m of property proceeds for growth opportunities, including [...]
HENRYs set for further Budget blow as more dragged into £100K tax trap January 13, 2026 Thousands more UK workers are set to be pulled into the £100,000 tax trap as high earners brace for a further financial squeeze. The number of Brits earning six-figure salaries is set to surpass two million for the first time according to estimates from HMRC obtained by Rathbones, leaving more high earners to face the [...]
House prices expected to rise in 2026 after December dip January 8, 2026 UK house prices slipped slightly in December, as affordability issues and the fallout from the Autumn Budget dampened buyer appetite, but industry figures expect the market to pick up in 2026. House prices fell 0.6 per cent in the final month of 2025, bringing prices down by a further £1,789, following a 0.1 per cent [...]
British investors fled the stock market at a record rate in 2025 January 7, 2026 British investors pulled out of the stock market at a record pace last year, as Budget uncertainty sparked a flight to safe haven assets. Equity fund outflows hit £6.7bn in 2025, twice the rate suffered in 2016, the year of the Brexit referendum, where outflows reached £3.3bn, according to global funds network Calastone. December marked [...]
Fiscal drag to push thousands of families into child benefit tax charge January 6, 2026 The Chancellor’s decision to freeze tax thresholds will leave thousands of families forced to pay High Income Child Benefit Charge, eroding the value of government support. According to official HMRC forecasts, uncovered in a freedom of information request by Quilter, fiscal drag will force 35,000 more families into paying the charge, jumping from 324,000 in [...]
Majority of Brits think economy is getting worse December 30, 2025 A majority of Brits think the economy is getting worse, with sentiment souring significantly amid rising prices and weak growth. Nearly six in ten Brits believe the UK economy is on a downward spiral, a major jump from 43 per cent at the beginning of the year, marking a significant blow to Chancellor Rachel Reeves [...]
UK firms eye AI spending in 2026, but skills gap threatens rollout December 30, 2025 A third of British businesses plan to invest in AI in 2026, yet new data suggests the bigger challenge may be readying staff for the technology, rather than rolling it out at speed. Research from Lloyds Bank’s recent business barometer revealed that 33 per cent of firms intend to invest in AI tools next year, [...]
House prices plunge around London with Brighton, Crawley hit hardest December 30, 2025 Patches of London’s ‘stockbroker belt’ suffered the most significant decline in house prices this year, as both the capital and the South East fell behind northern regions. The West Sussex town of Crawley suffered an 8.9 per cent drop of £36,317, while High Wycombe saw a 7.4 per cent drop, with £34,994 wiped off house [...]
Bet365 boss banks £260m payout despite profit slide December 23, 2025 Billionaire founder and chief executive of Bet365, Denise Coates, saw her pay surge last year, despite the firm’s profit going south. Coates was paid a salary of £104m in the year to March, according to newly filed accounts, while cash dividends to family shareholders tripled to £313.6m. As the firm’s majority owner, Coates was entitled [...]