Alarm bells as retail sales suffer largest fall in 18 months June 20, 2025 UK high streets suffered from post-Easter fatigue among shoppers as official data showed retail sales dropped by 2.7 per cent in May. The Office for National Statistics said a fall in sales in May represented the largest month-on-month drop since December 2023. A Bloomberg poll of economists expected retail sales to drop by 0.5 per [...]
Our economy remains in a perilous state June 12, 2025 With the long-awaited Spending Review, the UK Chancellor finally gets to reveal the goodies rather than simply be the baddie. But there will be one question lurking behind every line item, behind every pound pledged and every Treasury footnote: how are you going to pay for it?
Labour tax hikes drive steepest fall in retail sentiment since Covid May 27, 2025 British retailers’ confidence has made the steepest dive in five years, after facing pressures from Rachel Reeves’ £26bn employer tax raid and uncertainty sparked by Donald Trump’s trade war. The drop is the most severe since the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed the UK high street, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Grim sentiment in [...]
UK retail sales boost as Brits enjoy warm weather May 23, 2025 Sales rose for UK retailers last month as warmer weather helped drive stronger demand for food and drink, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said overall retail sales volumes rose by 1.2 per cent in April. This compared with a 0.1 per cent rise in March, which was revised down from [...]
Employment Rights Bill will ‘cut retail staff numbers’ April 29, 2025 Labour’s Employment Rights Bill will lead to job cuts and price hikes, a poll of 31 major retailers has found, in the latest sign the government’s legislative agenda risks harming economic growth. The legislation, which is nearing its final stages in Parliament, introduces sweeping changes to zero-hours contracts, sick pay, leave, flexible working and dismissal, [...]
Food inflation rises to its highest level in almost a year April 29, 2025 Food inflation has risen to its highest level in almost a year as cost pressures begin to weigh on prices. Food inflation increased to 2.6 per cent year on year in April, against growth of 2.4 per cent in March and above the three-month average of 2.4 per cent, according to the British Retail Consortium [...]
Reeves’ £25bn national insurance tax raid has arrived. What happens now? April 6, 2025 Sorry, Lionel Richie. Businesses aren’t feeling easy like a Sunday morning. The new tax year is here. And Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £25bn national insurance tax raid has fallen on thousands of firms. From today, employers will pay a tax rate of 15 per cent on salaries above £5,000, down from £9,100 previously. This secondary threshold [...]
Food inflation to hit 4.2 per cent in 2025 as cost pressures loom, BRC warns January 9, 2025 According to projections from the BRC, food prices will rise by an average of 4.2 per cent in the second half of 2025.
Retailers warn of ‘inevitable’ job losses and price rises after budget tax hikes November 13, 2024 Retail bosses warned that they will be forced to hike prices and cut jobs due to the government’s tax hikes, as the sector braces for a substantial increase in employment costs. In a draft letter to the Chancellor, coordinated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), retail bosses warned that job losses were “inevitable” and higher [...]