Hundreds of hospitality firms close as cost pressures take toll January 26, 2026 The “relentless” increase in operating costs put hospitality businesses under increasing pressure in the final quarter of last year, industry figures suggest. According to consumer intelligence firm NIQ, there were 382 fewer licensed premises at the end of December than there were three months prior, equivalent to four closures per day. Casual dining sites and [...]
Nigel Farage: Reform will tax the banks even if they don’t like it January 22, 2026 Nigel Farage has confirmed Reform will slap a tax on the UK’s banking giants in the latest dramatic escalation of his party’s tensions with the City. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Davos, Farage said: “This will be tough for banks to accept but I am sorry – the drain on public finances [...]
Budget damage to housing market set to continue, experts warn January 22, 2026 The UK’s housing market will continue to suffer from the impact of months of budget speculation last year as seller confidence languishes, property experts have warned. While sellers and estate agents breathed a sigh of relief when November’s Budget steered clear of most of the property that had been feared, these experts told City AM [...]
Only pubs set to benefit from business rates U-turn as hoteliers barred January 21, 2026 Pubs will be the only businesses to benefit from the government’s business rates U-turn as other hospitality firms will be shut out from tax relief, Rachel Reeves has hinted. The Chancellor told reporters at Davos that pubs face a different situation to the rest of the sector, likely meaning hotels and other hospitality businesses will [...]
Wetherspoon to reveal Christmas trading amid challenging backdrop for pubs January 18, 2026 Pub giant JD Wetherspoon is set to shed light on how its customers fared over the key Christmas period amid a backdrop of rising costs for the sector. The value pub chain, which runs around 800 venues across the UK, will become the latest firm to reveal its latest trading performance when it updates shareholders [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Gold surges amid Trump tensions; JLR leads growth rebound January 15, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Rachel Reeves’ report card for 2025 has received another dim review with fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing growth came in at a sluggish 0.1 per cent in the three months to November 2025. This was led by a modest rebound [...]
Reeves confirms ‘temporary support’ for pubs amid row over misleading claims January 14, 2026 Rachel Reeves has confirmed “temporary support” for pubs in a climbdown over the business rates row, as a chief tax official claimed the Treasury was warned about the damaging impact of tax reforms after ministers claimed they had been in the dark about the changes. The Chancellor confirmed on Wednesday that she will roll out [...]
EU banking rules could ‘choke investment’ from booming City January 14, 2026 The European Union threatens derailing its economic growth through changes to banking regulation after London beefed up its lending capacity following a Brexit boom. The 27-state bloc is set to bring in new legislation which will effectively ban non-EU banks from providing core banking services – such as lending and taking deposits – without establishing [...]
Scottish higher earners at risk of being hammered with more tax January 13, 2026 Higher earners in Scotland could pay over £1,000 more in extra tax, as the Scottish Finance Secretary copies Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget playbook. Finance Secretary Shona Robison opted to raise the tax threshold for both basic and intermediate tax payers, but left the higher rate unchanged, which is likely to drag more earners into higher [...]
Financial services suffer ‘rapid’ fall in business January 8, 2026 Financial services are suffering from a “rapid” fall in business activity, new survey data has shown, pointing to investors’ struggles to revive a spluttering UK economy. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI)‘s figures suggested financial services companies experienced a decline in business volumes and profitability at the end of last year, hitting confidence across the [...]