Cyberattacks hit UK businesses with £3.7bn in legal costs last year Business Large UK businesses were forced to fork out £3.7bn to defend legal action brought by shareholders last year over cyberattacks, according to new research from insurance giant Gallagher and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). Cyberattacks cost firms with over 250 employees an estimated £11.7bn in total, with litigation being the second largest [...]
Tube strikes could cost London up to £760m this year London Tube strikes planned until June could cost London’s economy up to £760m altogether, analysis provided to City AM has estimated. Lost working days due to uncertainty over the terms of 24-hour strikes is set to lead to hundreds of millions of pounds in lost income, economists have said. The Centre for Economics and Business Research [...]
14 charts reveal the massive challenges facing UK and NATO defence spending Politics Defence spending is casting a shadow over Downing Street. Military officers are in a state of despair. The choices facing Sir Keir Starmer are stark. The political calculus for the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has become more complicated than ever as the Iran war puts public finances in danger. Their difficulties go back to February 2025 [...]
UK to slide down world rankings on GDP per capita by 2030, report finds December 26, 2025 The UK is set to slip down the world rankings of GDP per capita by the end of the decade after being weighed down by “subpar” growth, a new report has said. The British economy will fall from its current rank of 19th to 21st next year and down further still to 22nd by 2030, [...]
Brits to spend half a year waiting for Tax Freedom Day after Labour tax hikes June 12, 2025 Tax Freedom Day is set to be on the latest ever date within a matter of years, fresh research has revealed, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves showing no signs of cutting taxes in the near future, given inflated spending. Reeves unveiled billions more cash to be injected into several departments at yesterday’s Spending Review while funding [...]
Firms delay tax payments as costs soar May 19, 2025 Unpaid business tax liabilities are averaging as much as £28bn a month this year, official data has revealed, suggesting firms are struggling to keep up with mounting costs. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £40bn tax hikes last autumn, including rises to employers’ national insurance contributions, were designed to lift the public finances and reduce borrowing. But new [...]
One in ten Brits have no cash savings, City regulator says May 16, 2025 One in ten Brits do not have any cash savings, the City regulator has warned, concerning signs that hundreds of thousands of people could be unable to cover emergency bills. New research by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has also suggested that a fifth of people have less than £1,000 available to draw on The [...]
Investor visa floated to reverse exodus of millionaires May 15, 2025 Keir Starmer’s government is reportedly looking to introduce a special visa for foreign investors in an attempt to reverse the tide of millionaires leaving the UK. Officials are at the early stages of drawing up a visa which would provide an olive branch to wealthy businessmen keen to fund in areas such as artificial intelligence [...]
Small businesses ‘held back’ by £112bn of late payments May 14, 2025 Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are owed some £112bn in late payments, new research has suggested, with buyers “holding back” UK growth. Nearly 5.5m companies with fewer than 250 employees and modest revenues are seen as the “backbone” of the UK economy and key to unlocking growth. But new research by the Centre for Economics [...]
UK’s tech crown is slipping away March 27, 2025 The UK has slipped behind in the tech arms race, falling behind emerging tech heavyweights. A new global ranking has placed Britain as 13th overall for tech competitiveness, behind nations like Ireland, Singapore and Australia. Meanwhile, perhaps more alarmingly, no G7 nation – the group of the world’s most industrialised nations including the UK – [...]