Bank of England to cut interest rates but faces dilemma on outlook August 4, 2025 The Bank of England is unlikely to signal faster interest rate cuts at this Thursday’s meeting, leading economists have said, leaving the future of monetary policy in the balance. Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members are widely expected to agree to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to four per cent. But City analysts have [...]
Bank of England officials set to clash on interest rates July 30, 2025 Bank of England policymakers are set to spar on whether to hold or cut interest rates as City analysts are expecting a three-way split in the final vote. The Bank saw a 6-3 vote in favour of holding interest rates at 4.25 per cent in June while the meeting before in May saw four dissenting [...]
Breadmakers Hovis and Kingsmill butter up £75m merger July 26, 2025 Bread producers Hovis and Kingsmill are set for a historic merger with their owners expected to ink an agreement after months of discussion. Kingsmill, whose immediate parent Allied Bakeries is owned by London-listed Associated British Foods (ABF), and Hovis could benefit from up to £50m of annual cost savings from a merger. The proposed agreement, [...]
Decathlon: Losses almost double amid ‘significant transformation’ July 22, 2025 Losses almost doubled at Decathlon during its latest financial year as a “significant transformation” impacted its sales. The retailer has reported a pre-tax loss of £23.7m for 2024, according to new accounts filed with Companies House. The total comes after Decathlon also posted a loss of £11.9m for 2023. The business last achieved a pre-tax [...]
Sticky inflation takes shine off Reeves’ week July 17, 2025 If the Chancellor was hoping to bask in the glow of supportive front-page coverage the morning after her Mansion House speech, she would have been disappointed. The spectacular revelations of Whitehall’s hushed-up cock-up over Afghan refugees knocked her off the top of the news agenda pretty much across the board. Only City AM gave her [...]
House prices ‘continue to surprise’ as average property value ticks up in May July 16, 2025 UK house prices rose again in May, bucking predictions of a slowdown in the market after stamp duty relief was axed earlier this year. The average price for a UK property reached £269,000 in May, up 3.9 per cent year on year and 1.1 per cent month on month. The bulk of this increase was [...]
Pressure on Bank of England and Reeves as inflation spikes July 16, 2025 The UK economy is at risk of ‘stagflation’ after official data revealed that inflation edged up to 3.6 per cent in June, putting further interest rate cuts by the Bank of England at risk. In the latest set of price growth data before the next monetary policy decision in August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that [...]
High inflation ‘not sufficient’ to scupper Bank of England interest rate cuts July 14, 2025 June inflation data showing a 3.4 per cent year-on-year rise in prices would not put Bank of England officials off voting for an interest rate cut in August, leading economists have said. A Bloomberg poll of City analysts has predicted that inflation will remain above the Bank’s two per cent target as price growth is [...]
Hamleys: More loss-making stores closed by iconic toys seller July 9, 2025 Hamleys has closed another raft of loss-making stores as it battles to boost its bottom line. The retailer shuttered 29 shops during its latest financial year, having also closed 40 in the prior 12 months. Hamleys, which also opened 22 new locations in the year, now operates 11 stores in the UK and has 176 [...]
Superdrug shrugs off Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes to create over 600 jobs July 2, 2025 Superdrug has created more than 600 jobs despite tax hikes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves putting “pressure” on its margins. The high street chain upped its headcount from 13,845 to 14,479 in 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House have revealed. The increase comes after Superdrug also created more than 400 jobs in 2023. The [...]