Hospitality firms are bracing for the return of inflation November 21, 2024 October’s inflation figure has worried hospitality firms. While it is not too far above target – 2.3 per cent versus the sweet spot of two per cent – and one month does not constitute a trend, it has exacerbated concerns companies already had about the future of their industry. There are two reasons hospitality is [...]
Retail bosses warn of £7bn cost burden after Budget November 19, 2024 UK retail bosses have written to the Chancellor to warn of the wide-ranging damage from the Autumn Budget on their sector, including “inevitable” job losses and price rises. In a letter coordinated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), 79 signatories, including bluechip retailers Tesco, Next, and Greggs, said they had “significant concerns” about the impact [...]
Insolvencies set to rise as Budget hikes business costs, Begbies Traynor warns November 18, 2024 A combination of elevated interest rates and higher business costs resulting from the Budget is set to lead to a spike in insolvencies, Begbies Traynor has warned. In last month’s Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased the amount employers have to pay in NICs by 1.2 per cent, and lowered the wage threshold at which employers [...]
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 [...]
Non-doms: South Africa’s richest woman is fighting to stay in the UK November 18, 2024 When it comes to leaving countries in a hurry, Magda Wierzycka has plenty of experience. At just 12 years old, the South African entrepreneur and her parents fled their native Poland under the the cover of night, becoming refugees after its communist government declared martial law. Ending up in South Africa – via an Austrian [...]
How Arla Foods boss went from selling cigarettes to Lurpak and Cravendale November 15, 2024 A globe-trotting career that began selling cigarettes at British American Tobacco and has led to heading up the UK arm of dairy giant Arla Foods is maybe not what Bas Padberg could have predicted when he started out in the early 1990s. The managing director of the group behind Lurpak, Cravendale, Skyr and B.O.B milk [...]
UK M&A set for ‘sustained increase’ after Budget and Trump victory November 14, 2024 British M&A activity is expected to ramp up going into 2025, City advisers have said, as dealmakers feel more certainty following the Budget and US presidential election.
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 [...]
Founders warn of hiring freeze ahead of national insurance hike November 14, 2024 A majority of founders are warning they will have to implement a hiring freeze ahead of the employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs) increase set to come into effect this spring. The warning signs follow Rachel Reeves’ announcement in the Budget last month of a 1.2 per cent increase to employers’ NICs, taking the total to [...]
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 [...]