UK manufacturing woes deepen as industry ‘hit on several fronts’ April 1, 2025 The latest S&P Global’s UK Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) shows that UK manufacturing’s woes have deepened. S&P Global’s latest PMI survey, which asks around 600 industrial companies about their performances, suggests that manufacturing is again in the downturn following a poor start to the year. The latest figure showed that it decreased to 44.9, which [...]
Fentimans returns to profit after cutting costs March 27, 2025 Fentimans, the soft drinks and tonic water brand, has predicted higher profits in 2025 as it returned to the black during its latest financial year despite the “ongoing challenging backdrop”. The Northumberland-based business has reported a pre-tax profit of £1.4m for 2024, according to new accounts filed with Companies House. The total comes after Fentimans [...]
British Steel: thousands of jobs at risk after £500m subsidy rejected March 27, 2025 Thousands of jobs have been put at risk after British Steel announced plans to significantly reduce operations at its Scunthorpe steelworks. Up to 2,700 employees are expected to be impacted by the move which would see the closure of two blast furnaces and steelmaking operations as well as a reduction of steel rolling mill capacity [...]
Why boss of FTSE 100 giant Auto Trader might ditch his Tesla March 25, 2025 The boss of FTSE 100 Auto Trader may ditch his Tesla in the future as rivals to Elon Musk's giant become more competitive on price.
Mixed bag of PMI data as services grow but manufacturing slumps March 24, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has received mixed signals about the state of the UK economy ahead of her Spring Statement as S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) pointed to an upturn in services while manufacturing declined again. The Spring Statement will be delivered on Wednesday as global trade war tensions escalate and worries over incoming tax [...]
Chancellor’s £40bn tax raid blamed for manufacturing slump March 21, 2025 Manufacturing has seen a faster fall in output at the beginning of this year as Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £40bn tax raid means businesses are “conserving funds”, research by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) suggests. The sector is seen as crucial to the Labour government’s growth plans as it pushes for a rise in technology [...]
‘Ominous’: UK manufacturing declines amid tax and trade fears March 17, 2025 UK manufacturing output fell during the first quarter of the year for the first time in a decade, as fears over a global trade war and rising taxes hit firms. Output fell one per cent in the first three months of 2025 after a 20 per cent rise in the quarter before, with UK orders [...]
Rolls-Royce CEO’s pay slashed by almost £10m despite rocketing FTSE 100 shares March 6, 2025 The chief executive of Rolls-Royce, Tufan Erginbilgic, has seen his pay slashed by almost £10m despite transforming the fortunes of the FTSE 100 giant. The CEO took home a pay packet of £4.1m for the Derby-headquartered group’s latest financial year, down from the £13.6m he received in the prior 12 months. Erginbilgic’s previous remuneration package [...]
A win on the world stage masks mounting trouble at home March 4, 2025 Keir Starmer has won plaudits for his decision to increase defence spending (albeit by less than the amount he’s given Ed Miliband to run a pretend energy company) and voters appear to be firmly behind the PM’s decision to fund this modest splurge by raiding the international development budget. The latest City AM Freshwater Strategy [...]
Government urged to back manufacturers’ growth ambitions March 4, 2025 The Government has been urged to back small and medium-sized (SME) manufacturers’ growth ambitions after fresh data showed it could give the economy an £83bn boost. Make UK and Citivas’ new report proposes that if SME manufacturers hit their targets the UK’s manufacturing sector would boom to 7th in the world. It currently stands at [...]