UK consumers cut spending amid wider economic nerves Economics UK consumers’ debit and credit card spending slumped in 2025 for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic as wider economic nerves knocked confidence. Card spending fell 0.2 per cent in the last 12 months, according to Barclays, a sharp contrast to the 1.6 per cent growth recorded in 2024. Just a quarter of British [...]
Budget uncertainty dampens November spending Black Friday discounts failed to significantly boost consumer spending in November, as Budget uncertainty kept shoppers away from the high street. Sales declined 0.1 per cent last month, following a 0.9 per cent fall in October, as households opted to hold off spending in the run up to Christmas and wait to see the outcome [...]
Hundreds of jobs at risk as Pizza Hut UK dine-in arm goes into administration Retail The dine-in arm of Pizza Hut has collapsed into administration, putting dozens of restaurants and hundreds of jobs at risk. DC London Pie Limited, which operates Pizza Hut’s UK restaurants, appointed FTI Consulting as administrators on Monday. The 67-year-old chain has said it will shutter 68 venues permanently, while 1,723 workers face uncertainty on their [...]
Oasis fans’ supersonic spending tops Swifties in economic boom September 26, 2025 Oasis fans have topped the economic boost of Taylor Swift, with spending reaching over £5m at their first Wembley concert this year. The ‘Gallaghernomics’, as dubbed by Lloyds in their Market Intelligence analysis, have surpassed ‘Swiftonomics’ by 38 percent. The Oasis concert on 25 July 2025 generated £5.1m revenue in Wembley and within a one-mile [...]
Autumn budget and inflation worries drag down consumer confidence September 18, 2025 Consumer confidence slumped in September as concerns about the state of the UK economy and the possibility of higher taxes weighed on Brits’ minds. Expectations of the state of the overall economy worsened to -36 in September, down from -32 in August, according to the British Retail Consortium. Brits’ personal financial situations also slipped to [...]
‘Exhausting’ house buying process damaging the economy, says Santander September 17, 2025 The UK’s outdated house buying process and rate of failed transactions are costing the economy at least £1.5bn a year, one of Britain’s biggest high street banks has warned. According to a report from Santander UK, over half a million failed housing transactions are costing consumers £560m directly, with some costs, including the costs of [...]
Pret A Manger writes down value by a third amid £525m losses September 9, 2025 Pret A Manger has written off a third of the value it was handed after its 2018 acquisition by European investment group JAB as an uncertain UK economy puts pressure on the sandwich chain. The group made a £553m non-cash impairment to the £912m goodwill on its balance sheet created as part of the 2018 [...]
Gen Z prioritise fitness spending over pubs and restaurants September 3, 2025 Spending by Gen Z on fitness activities has jumped in the last year as Brits focus on fitness over pubs and restaurants, according to new data. With three quarters of Gen Z exercising at least twice per week, fitness spending has risen 17 per cent in the last year, according to a report by The [...]
Surging food inflation hits restaurant sales August 19, 2025 Food inflation is accelerating once again, eating into consumers’ pockets and pushing prices higher across the board. Inflation at the grocers hit five per cent in the four weeks ended August 10, down from 5.2 per cent in the previous month but well above the wider UK rate of 3.6 per cent. Real wage growth, [...]
Rental crisis in London worsens: ‘Payments border on the obscene’ August 18, 2025 Rents in London are taking up a larger portion of tenants’ earnings again after three years of improvements. Private renters on a median household income in the capital paid 41.6 per cent of their earnings on rent last year, up from 38 per cent in 2023 and the highest figure since 2021. The cost of [...]