Forget non-doms, it’s the British founder exodus that matters Opinion Non-doms leaving is hardly surprising. It's the British founders rearranging their affairs that should make us worry, writes Simon Malkiel.
Britain is underestimating the power of trade Opinion New figures show the UK conducts more than £5bn of trade every single day, yet we barely celebrate it, writes Carl Richardson.
Inheritance tax changes are showing family businesses the door Opinion From 6 April inheritance tax relief on agricultural and business assets is being slashed. The very businesses that benefit the UK’s economy are the ones that are most exposed to these IHT changes, says Mark Goddard For more than three decades, business relief on inheritance tax has acted as the safety valve which allows entrepreneurs [...]
Family businesses still face inheritance tax cliff edge March 6, 2026 Almost all of Britain’s family businesses still face major changes to inheritance tax despite a government concession to limit the damage of its decision to end the carve-out for family-run firms. According to a fresh poll, just one in 10 business owners believe they will not be affected by changes to inheritance tax first announced [...]
Family businesses on brink after inheritance tax crackdown November 19, 2025 The damage wrought by the Chancellor’s inheritance tax crackdown on family firms has been laid bare by fresh research that found over a third are on the brink of closure before the end of the parliament. A poll of family business owners found nearly two thirds of the UK’s 4.8m family businesses are worried about [...]
Britain needs to ‘encourage enterprising entrepreneurs’ to kick-start economy October 22, 2025 Britain “needs to be a nation of shopkeepers once again” and “encourage enterprising entrepreneurs” to boost its economic prosperity, the chief executive of recruitment giant Reed has said. Speaking on an up-coming episode of City AM‘s Boardroom Uncovered podcast, James Reed said if he was Prime Minister for the day, he’d “make Britain a destination [...]
Autumn Budget: JCB boss calls on Reeves not to do anything ‘daft’ October 22, 2025 The chief executive of JCB has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves not to do anything “daft” in her Autumn Budget which would deter inward investment. Graeme Macdonald, who leads the Staffordshire-headquartered manufacturing giant under chairman Lord Anthony Bamford, said he’s “not optimistic” about the Budget next month, adding that Reeves is “definitely” going to raise [...]
British icon in the red after Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes costs jobs October 10, 2025 John Smedley, the historic family-owned luxury knitwear brand, has been forced to raise prices and make redundancies as it battles Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes as it fell into the red. The Derbyshire-headquartered business can trace its roots back to 1784 and is currently run by the eighth generation of the Smedley family. Executive chairman [...]
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 [...]
Rachel Reeves told to ‘get out of the way’ ahead of Autumn Budget August 13, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been told to “let businesses get on with it and get out of the way” ahead of delivering her second Autumn Budget in the coming months. A group of 1,500 private business leaders surveyed by KPMG said the Chancellor should focus on promoting higher wages and lower costs for companies. They [...]