Manufacturing order books suffer sharp drop October 23, 2025 Manufacturing activity in October suffered a sharp drop amid high interest rates and uncertainty around the upcoming Budget, a new survey has found. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI)’s latest industrial trends survey has shown that the total orders balance fell to minus 38. The CBI said September’s figure showed a score of minus 28. [...]
Autumn Budget: JCB boss calls on Reeves not to do anything ‘daft’ October 22, 2025 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 [...]
Whisper it: British manufacturing has been a quiet Brexit success story October 14, 2025 It’s time Brexit Britain created a trade policy that focuses on its competitive advantages, says Daniel Dieppe Brexit was never meant to be an economic success. At least, according to the Treasury estimates, which predicted a year-long recession, a 500,000 increase in unemployment and a reduction in growth between three and six per cent. Yet [...]
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 [...]
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos issues ‘urgent warning’ amid job cuts October 7, 2025 Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos is to cut 20 per cent of the workforce at its Acetyls plant at Hull, it has been confirmed. In total, 60 jobs are set to be lost in what the group said was a “direct result of sky-high energy costs and anti-competitive trade practices”. Confirming the news, Ineos blamed “dirt-cheap [...]
JCB billionaire banks record £866m pay day October 3, 2025 The billionaire Bamford family paid themselves £866m despite JCB’s sales and profit being slashed in 2024, it has been revealed. The Staffordshire-headquartered manufacturer issued the huge dividend which was up significantly from the £300m it paid out in 2023. The dividend total from 2023 had previously been JCB’s largest pay out in a decade until [...]
Manufacturing sector breakdown worsens amid ‘dearth of export work’ October 1, 2025 A breakdown in activity across the manufacturing sector has deepened as new data has shown export work coming to a halt and investment falling flat. S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for manufacturing in September showed the sector was still struggling to bounce back despite some quiet optimism in recent months. Activity in the sector [...]
Meet the lawyer that launched Mayer Brown into Space (law) October 1, 2025 Fifteen years ago, Rachael O’Grady, an arbitration lawyer, had a blown-up satellite operator case land on her desk, a case that would pique her interest and ultimately lead to the creation of a space practice at Mayer Brown. “Given my international law background, I started thinking about space and how that might interact with international [...]
Rolls-Royce: FTSE 100 giant now worth £100bn September 29, 2025 FTSE 100 giant Rolls-Royce is now worth more than £100bn after its share price continued its remarkable rise. The Derby-headquartered group passed the milestone for the first time in its 121-year history on Friday before slipping back. Now, shares in Rolls-Royce have risen again and surpassed 1,191p, giving the company a valuation of more than [...]
Manufacturing sector warned: Employment claims set to soar under new Rights Bill September 25, 2025 Manufacturing businesses are grappling with a rising tide of Employment Tribunal claims, driven by economic pressures, which are set to become even more challenging under the Employment Rights Bill. A new report from law firm Birketts, shared exclusively with City AM, reveals that manufacturing businesses faced an average of 39.44 tribunal claims over the past [...]