Retailers call for ‘lifeline’ from Healey as cooler weather fails to boost footfall Retail Britain’s retailers have called for a “lifeline” from the Chancellor John Healey after footfall fell again in August despite cooler temperatures. Total footfall in the UK fell by 1.7 per cent year on year last month, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Though shopping traffic fell at a slower rate than July’s [...]
Retailers urge Healey to unwind national insurance hike to boost jobs Retail Retailers have called on Chancellor John Healey to unwind some of the national insurance reforms made by his predecessor in a bid to tackle the youth joblessness crisis. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, has written to the Chancellor, urging him to unwind “soaring employment costs”. [...]
Bingo giant takes hit from rising employment costs Leisure The country’s biggest bingo hall operator has hit out at the “significant” hikes to employment costs which dragged down its earnings despite surging Gen-Z interest in the pastime. Buzz Bingo, formerly Gala, blamed recent increases in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and the minimum wage for its six per cent dip in underlying earnings, to [...]
Graduate jobs market slumps to new low August 24, 2026 The UK’s ailing graduate jobs market has slumped to a record low as employment costs surge and firms turn to AI for entry-level roles. The number of graduate vacancies in Britain fell 45.6 per cent to 8,383 in the year to July, undercutting the previous low set in May, according to recruitment firm Adzuna. This [...]
New planning rules ‘could blight high streets with empty pubs’ August 18, 2026 Angela Rayner’s attempt to stop pubs being redeveloped into offices and housing could “blight high streets” with empty venues, property experts have warned. The housing secretary has unveiled reforms to planning rules which mean that developers can only turn a pub into housing or an office if there is no reasonable prospect that it can [...]
Jobs market ‘stops moving’ as employment costs weigh on hirers August 17, 2026 The UK’s jobs market has “largely stopped moving” as employment costs weigh on businesses and block jobseekers’ progression into the world of work. Private sector employment intentions are stuck at the lowest ever level outside of the covid-19 pandemic, at plus 11, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The organisation, which [...]
Frasers slams ‘nonsense rumours’ over Harvey Nichols bid July 16, 2026 The boss of Frasers has hit back at “nonsense rumours” that retail brands are reluctant to work with the group, which is known for making aggressive plays to take control of rival companies. The group, which owns Sports Direct and Flannels, gatecrashed the auction to buy luxury department store Harvey Nichols last week, despite some [...]
Retailers urge Burnham to slash tax and back youth employment July 16, 2026 Retailers have called on Andy Burnham to slash their taxes and help them to employ young people in a raft of demands for the Prime Minister-to-be. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), a trade body representing the UK’s biggest retailers, has urged Burnham to “buy into retail” as part of his pledge to back local communities [...]
M&S chair: Tax and employment costs holding back Britain July 7, 2026 Rising taxes and employment costs are holding businesses back from investing in Britain and helping it “prosper,” an M&S boss has said. Archie Norman, chairman of the retail giant and former chief executive of Asda, told shareholders on Tuesday that these “big regulatory headwinds” are “not making it easier to invest and prosper in Britain”. [...]
‘Not all sunlit uplands’: Pub bosses weigh in on whether Brexit leaves a bitter taste June 23, 2026 A decade on from the referendum, has Brexit left a bitter taste? The bosses of the UK’s biggest pub firms have their say Notoriously outspoken, the bosses of the UK’s leading pub brands are usually shouting about the same thing: the tax and regulatory burden threatening watering holes across the country. But, on the anniversary [...]