UK home insurers brace for 2026 losses as premiums set to fall December 23, 2025 British home insurers are set to finish 2025 in the black, but losses are expected in 2026. According to data exclusively shared with City AM by Deloitte, UK home insurers are set to make an underwriting profit in 2025, with a net combined ratio (NCR) of 98 per cent. For every £1 taken in premiums [...]
Budget uncertainty dampens November spending December 19, 2025 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 [...]
FCA probe and bonus clawbacks: WH Smith acts against former directors as North America profit plunges December 19, 2025 WH Smith’s board will trigger clawback provisions for senior executives following accounting errors woes that had resulted in a probe by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). WH Smith chief executive Carl Cowling stepped down with immediate effect last month after the report, produced by Big Four audit firm Deloitte, identified weaknesses in the operations of [...]
Deloitte’s big Christmas quiz 2025 December 9, 2025 The 2025 Deloitte Christmas Economics Quiz by chief economist, Ian Stewart and team The Christmas quiz offers a test of your knowledge of the festive season, economics and politics, in 12 questions. The answers and a brief explanation of the factors at work are provided at the end. 1) Which British politician (past and present) [...]
Bake-off: Ex-WH Smith finance chief withdraws from Greggs role after audit blunder November 19, 2025 The former finance chief of WH Smith will no longer take up a position on the board of Greggs after a damning audit report into the travel retailer revealed inconsistent accounting practices during his stint as finance boss. In a statement to investors on Wednesday, the high-street bakery confirmed that Robert Moorhead, who stepped down [...]
WH Smith chief executive quits after damning Deloitte audit report November 19, 2025 The boss of one of Britain’s best-known retailers has quit the role after an investigation into the firm’s accounting practices uncovered major flaws. WH Smith chief executive Carl Cowling said he would step down with immediate effect on Wednesday after the report, produced by Big-Four audit firm Deloitte identified weaknesses in the operations of the [...]
WH Smith delays results by more than a month as accounting struggles persist October 29, 2025 WH Smith has delayed the publication of its results by more than a month as it wrestles to get to the bottom of accounting issues that caused profit expectations to be overstated by tens of millions of pounds. The global travel retailer was due to publish its preliminary results on 12 November, but has now [...]
Finance chiefs fear UK is falling behind as Labour growth push falls flat October 13, 2025 UK finance chiefs believe the country is falling behind rivals as costs are stacking up and squeezing profit margins, a new survey has shown, with further alarm bells ringing that businesses are losing faith in Labour’s drive for growth. The government has moved to curry favour with top investment bosses as Rachel Reeves met the [...]
Deloitte refunds Australian government after AI ‘made up citations’ in report October 6, 2025 Big Four firm Deloitte is set to issue a partial refund to the Australian federal government after a report it issued contained several errors caused by the use of AI. Deloitte was commissioned by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) to review a targeted compliance framework and its IT system in December 2024. [...]
Deloitte: Profit up despite revenue slip amid ‘tougher market’ September 30, 2025 Profit at the UK arm of Big Four giant Deloitte rose during its latest financial year despite its revenue falling as it made “changes” to its structure. For the year to 31 May, 2025, Deloitte posted a revenue of £5.68bn, down from the £5.75bn it raked in during the prior 12 months. However, despite the [...]