Pubs outraged as Selfridges and Harrods see business rates slashed December 8, 2025 Rachel Reeves is facing a backlash for a cut to business rates for the likes of Selfridges and Harrods while many pubs and restaurants see a huge hike. Analysis has found that a new shake-up of business rates will cause the tax bill of luxury stores to fall, while smaller venues face double-digit increases. Harrods’ [...]
Birthday cookies and fine dining: Inside the law firm aiming for 5-Star service December 4, 2025 There are not many office buildings in the City where, just five feet in the door, you receive a personalised greeting, but Addleshaw Goddard’s client services team would put The Ritz to shame. How to stand out in a crowded field? That is the question plaguing most law firms as they battle to grow in [...]
Hotels ‘fighting to maintain profits’ as costs rise December 3, 2025 Britain’s hotels are struggling with rising costs despite increasing demand, according to the latest data. Profits were flat for UK hotels between September and October at just over 38 per cent, and fell slightly from 43.3 per cent to 43.1 per cent in London, according to the RSM hotels tracker. This was despite a rise [...]
On the Beach shares rocket as firm gears up for record summer December 2, 2025 On the Beach is getting itself ready for a record summer season as consumers hold on to their overseas holidays despite feeling the squeeze. The travel retailer said its Winter bookings were 15 per cent ahead of last year while bookings for next summer were “encouraging” and likely to be the highest yet. Chief executive [...]
How Chiswick became ‘little Nashville’ December 2, 2025 Leafy Chiswick seems a million miles from the honky-tonk bars of the American South. But somehow it’s becoming a Mecca for country music fans.
‘We’ve been lied to’: Hospitality in uproar over business rates overhaul November 28, 2025 A 5p reduction in business rates for hospitality and retail was held up by the Chancellor as a sign the government was listening to their concerns. But – writes Ali Lyon – as business owners calculated what it meant for their bottom line, they discovered that the devil was in the detail. It was supposed [...]
Budget 2025: What exactly is happening with business rates? November 26, 2025 Long-awaited changes to business rates were finally announced in the Budget, with a lower rate for small companies to be paid for by a higher levy for large firms. Retailers have been railing against for business rates for years, with concerns that the tax creates an unfair playing field between high street and online firms, which [...]
Budget: Reeves introduces ‘permanently lower’ taxes for retail and hospitality November 26, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed she will introduce permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure firms, paid for by higher levies on big properties. Retailers have been crying out for business rates reform for years, with concerns that the tax creates an unfair playing field between high street and online firms, which only owe [...]
‘I have no confidence in Rachel Reeves to turn things around’ November 24, 2025 The chief executive of a luxury hotel group in London has said he has “no confidence” in Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of her Budget later this week. Gavin Taylor, who leads Clermont Hotel Group, also branded Reeves as “not particularly business friendly” and that the Chancellor needs to lower the tax burden on companies in [...]
Autumn Budget: BrewDog boss issues £1bn warning to Rachel Reeves November 19, 2025 The hospitality sector needs to sell almost one million extra pints every hour in order to cope with a £1bn cost surge thanks to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes, the chief executive of BrewDog has warned. James Taylor, who took on the job earlier this year, said Reeves needs to take ‘meaningful action’ because of [...]