Family businesses still face inheritance tax cliff edge Tax 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 [...]
Britain needs to ‘encourage enterprising entrepreneurs’ to kick-start economy Business 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’ Business 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 [...]
Wilkin & Sons: King’s jam maker returns to profit despite Reeves’ tax hikes July 11, 2025 Wilkin & Sons, the historic jams maker which supplies King Charles, has returned to profit despite the “significant strain” Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget put on its finances. The Essex-headquartered business, which is behind the Tiptree brand, said the “continued increased in National Minimum Wage” impacted its bottom line while high energy costs also hit its [...]
Arnold Clark counts the cost of Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes July 1, 2025 Car dealership giant Arnold Clark has revealed the tax hikes announced by Rachel Reeves in her first Budget as Chancellor will cost it an extra £30m a year. The Glasgow-headquartered group said the increase in employer’s National Insurance contributions and the rise in the National Minimum Wage will mainly be responsible for the rise. Arnold [...]
Warburtons family in the dough after record sales and profit June 30, 2025 The family behind Warburtons almost doubled their dividend after sales and profit at the bakery giant hit new records. The Bolton-headquartered business, which is run by the fifth generation of the Warburton family, issued an interim dividend of £27.2m in the year to 28 September, 2024, it has been revealed. The pay out is up [...]
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 [...]