Next boss Wolfson tells Healey: ‘You can’t spend your way out of a crisis’ Retail Lord Wolfson, Next’s chief executive, has urged Chancellor John Healey to cut spending at next month’s Budget, warning, “you can’t spend your way out of a funding crisis”. The retail boss has urged the government to clamp down on spending, avoid further tax hikes and slash planning red tape to boost economic growth. He told [...]
Next lifts profit targets but sounds alarm on ‘vicious circle’ of high tax and low growth Retail Next has lifted its profit target again following “much better” than expected trading in the first half of the year as the retailer was spurred on by booming international sales and record summer temperatures. The FTSE 100 retail giant saw sales across its group jump by nine per cent in the six months to July, [...]
Can cautious Wolfson keep stunning Next shareholders? Retail Lord Simon Wolfson has become a shareholder darling over his 25 years in charge of Next. Felix Armstrong asks whether he can keep on surprising them. Few companies listed on the London Stock Exchange are more bound up with the personality of their chief executives than Next. Lord Simon Wolfson, the long-time boss of the [...]
Next boss slams Labour’s zero-hour contracts crackdown May 26, 2026 The boss of Next has slammed the government’s crackdown on zero-hour contracts and called on Labour to unwind its “employment taxes”. Lord Simon Wolfson, chief executive of the FTSE 100 retailer, said the government’s plans to force employers to offer guaranteed hours to those on flexible contracts will make it “much harder” for Next to [...]
Badenoch accuses Starmer of lying as Abramovich row erupts January 8, 2026 Kemi Badenoch has accused Keir Starmer of lying about her shadow attorney general Lord Wolfson amid a furious row about funds in Roman Abramovich’s frozen bank account designated for Ukraine. Starmer took aim at Lord Wolfson, who has recused himself from offering the Tory leader advice on Ukraine and Russia due to his own legal [...]
M&S cyberattack helps Next to beat expectations again July 31, 2025 High Street darling Next has said that good weather and the disruption to Marks & Spencer caused by its recent cyberattack has helped it to beat expectations yet again. The Lord Wolfson-run fashion group said full price sales were up over 10 per cent in the first half of this year, nearly £50m ahead of [...]
Next boss Lord Wolfson in calls for ‘renewed centre right’ July 19, 2025 Lord Wolfson, the boss of retail giant Next, has called for a “renewed centre right” which champions the free markets’ importance in raising living standards. Wolfson, a Conservative life peer and prominent supporter of Brexit, argued a “commitment to liberty” should form the basis of the right-wing movement in the UK. “This classical liberalism stands [...]
Tory immigration policy: Kemi Badenoch unveils review into leaving ECHR June 6, 2025 Kemi Badenoch has used a major speech on immigration to announce a review into the UK leaving the European Court of Human Rights. In a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in Westminster, the Conservative leader announced a “lawfare commission” whilst slamming “a legal culture that’s become more interested in political activism than [...]
Next: Boss of FTSE 100 giant rewarded after £1bn profit April 10, 2025 The chief executive of FTSE 100 giant Next took home almost £5m as the high street icon’s profit surged to more than £1bn for the first time. Lord Simon Wolfson took home a total pay packet of £4.72m for the Leicester-headquartered retailer’s latest financial year, up from £4.63m. The CEO’s remuneration package included a salary [...]
Next CEO backs Lords battle against National Insurance tax rise January 29, 2025 The chief executive of retail giant Next has backed an attempt in the House of Lords to change the planned change to employer’s National Insurance Contributions (NICs). Lord Wolfson has supported amendments to the bill which have been tabled by Baroness Noakes. In Labour’s Budget last Autumn, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that the government would [...]