Autumn Budget: B&Q boss hands Reeves tool kit for growth Retail Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, the boss of retail stalwart B&Q warns truly fixing the foundations starts with building confidence. After Labour’s monumental 2024 general election sweep, Chancellor Rachel Reeves seized her economic tool kit, telling Britons she was “fixing [...]
Rachel Reeves told to scrap business rates for new profit tax in Budget Economics A City accountancy firm has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to scrap business rates in her Autumn Budget and replace them with a new profit tax. Lubbock Fine said business rates, which have been the topic of much lobbying in recent weeks, should make way for a variable local tax on profits. The firm said [...]
Co-op warns 150,000 jobs at risk ahead of Autumn Budget Retail The Co-op has warned that 60,000 small shops and 150,000 jobs could be lost without business rates reform in next month’s Autumn Budget. The Manchester-headquartered group has said Britain’s high streets “face a critical moment” and that Chancellor Rachel Reeves needs to announce “maximum” business rates relief on 26 November. The call comes after City [...]
Reeves’ taxes ‘incredibly damaging’ to historic family business September 16, 2025 The tax hikes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Autumn Budget are “a real setback” and will be “incredibly damaging”, one of the UK’s biggest family-owned breweries has warned. Robinsons Brewery, which has been in business in Stockport for more than 180 years, has issued a warning that 2025 will be “a much more [...]
‘It’s not a fair fight’: HMV boss issues Rachel Reeves Autumn Budget tax demand September 8, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been urged to reform business rates in the Autumn Budget by the boss of HMV. Phil Halliday, in an up-coming episode of City AM‘s Boardroom Uncovered show, said the current system should be altered to make it fairer for UK retailers. The managing director added that businesses such as HMV are [...]
Cake Box: ‘We do very well when there’s trouble on the high street’ July 15, 2025 Cake Box has managed to find success on the high street at a tough time for in-store retail, consistently outperforming peers in day-to-day goods. Its recipe for success is simple, according to its chief executive Sukh Chamdal: small celebrations – birthday cakes which start at £20 – are one of the last non-essential things stretched [...]
Thwaites ‘extremely nervous’ Rachel Reeves will raise taxes in Autumn Budget June 17, 2025 Beer brewer Thwaites is “extremely nervous” about the possibility of Chancellor Rachel Reeves raising taxes further in her Autumn Budget. The Lancashire-headquartered group, which also owns pubs and hotels, added its industry is “under tremendous pressure” from Reeves’ first Autumn Budget due to the increases in the National Minimum Wage and the employer’s National Insurance [...]
Reeves’ tax hikes force Timothy Taylor to raise price of a pint June 13, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes have forced brewer Timothy Taylor to raise its prices as it slammed the “hostile fiscal and regulatory environment” it now faces. The family-owned brewer said its industry is facing “significant input and labour cost increases” as well as dealing with the fall in business rates relief. Timothy Taylor added that it [...]
Greene King: Pub giant calls for ‘urgent help’ after losing £150m May 19, 2025 Pub giant Greene King has issued an urgent plea to the government for help after slumping to a near-£150m loss in 2024. The Suffolk-headquartered group fell to a pre-tax loss of £147.1m during its latest financial year, having posted a profit of £45.2m in 2023. Greene King, which operates around 2,600 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, [...]
Fun-police Labour are waging a war on pubs February 6, 2025 From business rates to labour costs and even employment regulations that could require landlords to clamp down on free speech, this Labour government has launched an all-out assault on pubs, says Chris Philp For millions of Londoners – especially those who WFH on Friday – when the end of week in the office comes into [...]