Michael Vaughan issues Autumn Budget plea to Rachel Reeves September 18, 2025 Cricket legend Michael Vaughan has issued a plea to Chancellor Rachel Reeves to help out start-ups and small-to-medium-sized (SMEs) businesses in her Autumn Budget on 26 November. Vaughan, who has recently invested in health and wellness supplement start-up Uthful, hit out at the employers’ National Insurance increase included in last year’s Autumn Budget for causing [...]
Why is the pharmaceutical industry turning its back on the UK? September 18, 2025 Since coming into power last year, Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer have consistently stressed the importance of the life science sector to the UK economy, viewing it as critical for growth. In its aim to boost the industry’s standing, Labour pledged to make the UK an attractive place for investment and innovation, and to increase [...]
Why public markets are a public good September 17, 2025 Far from being irrelevant, UK public equity markets are a vital public good essential for tax revenue, corporate transparency, and economic growth, which requires urgent tax reforms to encourage companies to list and remain in the UK, says Charles Hall There is a school of thought that thinks public equity markets are relatively unimportant and [...]
Tech investment provides Starmer with some light relief September 17, 2025 The Special Relationship will be on display this week, but it will also be tested. On a commercial level, things are rumbling along rather nicely; £30bn of US investment into the UK’s AI infrastructure is nothing to sniff at. Donald Trump’s state visit comes with its own political baggage, on which more in a moment, [...]
State pension boost raises questions on tax and triple lock future September 16, 2025 While pensioners may be cheering a proposed 4.7 per cent rise in the state pension, there are lingering questions over the sustainability of such increases and the viability of the triple lock itself. The proposed uplift means that payments to retirees are on track to rise by more than £560, bringing the new full state [...]
Brits risk financial future as they fail to save for retirement September 15, 2025 UK savers are failing to put enough money away to fund retirement, despite growing calls from industry figures for people to get to grips with their pension savings. According to the latest report from Lloyds subsidiary Scottish Widows, nearly a quarter of working age people aren’t currently saving for retirement. Meanwhile, over a third are [...]
High living costs threaten Gen Z and Millennials’ pensions September 15, 2025 Younger generations are struggling to afford adding money to their pension pot, forcing many to be at risk of retirement poverty, new research has found. According to a survey from fintech start-up Chest, two in five 18-34 year olds are failing to top up their pension pot as they face the challenge of spending more [...]
Foreign takeovers risk turning UK into an ‘incubator economy’ September 15, 2025 The UK is facing a time crunch to avoid becoming an “incubator economy” as foreign takeovers continue to sweep the London market. A collection of top venture capital investors and founders have called for crucial reforms to the markets ecosystem with a focus on pensions and the IPO environment. The reforms, as outlined in a [...]
US financial firms pledge investment into the UK before Trump visit September 13, 2025 US financial firms have announced investments in the UK worth £1.25 billion before Donald Trump’s state visit next week. Citi Group has confirmed it will invest £1.1 billion across its UK operations, while S&P Global will put £4 million into their Manchester offices. PayPal has confirmed a £150 million investment in product innovations and growth [...]
Astrazeneca pauses £200m Cambridge investment September 13, 2025 British drug giant Astrazeneca has paused a planned £200 million expansion of its research site in Cambridge in a fresh blow to the UK pharmaceutical industry. It comes after the pharmaceutical firm abandoned plans to invest £450 million in a vaccine plant in Merseyside earlier this year in a blow to the Government as it [...]