Dunelm boss: A rise in the living wage is good for our company November 27, 2024 The boss of Dunelm has said that an above-inflation increase to the minimum wage will have a positive effect on the home furnishings giant, despite a flurry of retailers decrying the increased bill. Dunelm chief executive Nick Wilkinson said that the resulting increase in consumer confidence – due to higher disposable income – will ripple [...]
‘Catastrophic’: Airports demand meeting with Rachel Reeves over business rates November 27, 2024 A draft letter from Airports UK, which represents over 50 airports in the UK, claims the industry will be forced to pay out more than £1bn.
Budget tax hikes branded a ‘land grab’ by retail tech boss November 25, 2024 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget was a “land grab” that demonstrated “short-term thinking” and will hamper the already struggling retail sector, the UK boss of a retail tech firm has said. Roy Horgan, who is the UK chief executive of Euronext-listed Vusion Group, said rises to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) would be inflationary and prevent [...]
Family-run coach firms reeling from inheritance tax overhaul November 21, 2024 While there are a handful of national players, around eight in ten small and medium sized coach operators in Britain are family-owned.
Homeowners face massive inheritance tax hike after Budget hit November 21, 2024 London homeowners are going to be hit with an eye-watering 1,840 per cent increase in inheritance tax (IHT) liability, as a direct result of Rachel Reeves’ Budget changes, it has been calculated. A single homeowner in the capital with an averaged priced home of £525,586, with the same amount in their pension, will have a [...]
Exclusive: Labour’s relationship with business ‘at a critical point’, retail boss warns November 19, 2024 If a week is a long time in politics, then four months in retail is a lifetime. When Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), last sat down with City AM in late July, she could hardly have been more effusive in her praise for the incoming Chancellor and her business [...]
Budget will hurt UK wage growth, Goldman Sachs warns November 18, 2024 UK consumer spending is set to slump next year and dent UK growth, analysts at Goldman Sachs have warned, as the impact of the Budget ripples through the economy. The rise to employers’ national insurance (NI) contributions will lead to slower wage growth for staff and higher costs for consumers, the investment bank wrote in [...]
Lower interest rates not enough to rally consumer confidence November 18, 2024 After a steady climb throughout the year so far, consumer confidence dipped in November amid warnings it could continue to fall into 2025. Overall confidence fell from 47.3 in October to 46.9 in November, according to the S&P Global UK Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) survey. The neutral mark is 50. Chief business economist at S&P, [...]
Budget could destroy seventh-generation pub giant, warns boss November 18, 2024 The changes announced in the Budget represent an ‘existential threat’ to the future of a seventh-generation pub and brewing giant, its owner has warned. William Lees-Jones, who owns and runs Manchester-based JW Lees, which has produced real ale since 1828, has warned he is now “facing the very real prospect that we will never be able to [...]
London pubs giant Young’s issues Budget warning after £11m costs hike November 14, 2024 Pub giant Young’s, which has locations across London and the South East, has insisted it has no plans to increase the price of drinks despite the Budget adding around £11m in annual costs. The listed group said it was instead focusing on increasing efficiency, better use of technology and internal investment in order to deal [...]