Budget could hand economy £60bn if small businesses supported November 18, 2025 Small businesses could provide a £60bn injection to the UK economy if the Autumn Budget meets firm’s needs, fresh research has indicated. Fresh research from Barclays Business Prosperity Index showed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were playing it cautious ahead of the Budget, even more so than their larger corporate counterparts. Firms hit pause on [...]
Autumn Budget: B&Q boss hands Reeves tool kit for growth November 12, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, the boss of retail stalwart B&Q warns truly fixing the foundations starts with building confidence. After Labour’s monumental 2024 general election sweep, Chancellor Rachel Reeves seized her economic tool kit, telling Britons she was “fixing [...]
Brits confidence in European economy outpaces UK as Budget fears grow November 11, 2025 Brits have admitted to having more confidence in the strength of the European and global economy than the UK as Budget fears consume the country. Fresh Barclays research has revealed Brits confidence in the European economy has ranked above the UK for the tenth consecutive month. Of the 2,000 surveyed, 22 per cent had faith [...]
I’m 31 and pay thousands into my pension: taxing my contributions could be the last straw November 11, 2025 The Chancellor’s threat of a a two per cent national insurance tax on salary sacrifice contributions above £2,000 is deeply unfair, says Martin Kimber People tend to look at me like I’ve just admitted to collecting antique Victorian dolls when I tell them I sacrifice 15 per cent of my salary into a pension. However, [...]
Reeves eyes clampdown on salary sacrifice in latest stealth tax on high earners November 8, 2025 Rachel Reeves is preparing to tighten the rules on salary sacrifice schemes in what would amount to a stealth tax raid on pension savings, as the chancellor searches for ways to fill a yawning £30bn black hole in public finances. Reeves will use her November Budget to cap the amount that workers can pay into [...]
Brighton Pier up for sale as Reeves’ tax hikes bite November 6, 2025 Brighton Pier Group, which was taken private earlier this year, has placed all its assets on the market as it battles “an extremely challenging trading environment” and the impact of Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes. In its first set of accounts since quitting the London Stock Exchange’s AIM in May, the group said it is “now [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves must cure British ‘pessimism’ disease November 5, 2025 Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, chief executive of Peel Hunt urges Reeves to use the Budget to start the cure for British pessimism. As Rachel Reeves ruminates over which tax prescription to write to fill her fiscal black hole, [...]
Labour has ‘unbelievably harsh stance’ on big businesses November 4, 2025 It is “unbelievable” that the Labour government has “taken such a harsh stance” on big businesses, the chief executive of restaurant chain Pizza Express has said. Speaking on an up-coming episode of City AM’s Boardroom Uncovered podcast, Paula MacKenzie said the industry had been “somewhat decimated” by the Covid-19 pandemic and has then been hit [...]
‘Tax on risk’ – Founders warn against income tax rise November 4, 2025 A group of young entrepreneurs has issued a fresh warning that a proposed hike to income tax will hit the self-employed hardest, and accelerate a trend of young founders relocating overseas. In a clarion call ahead of next month’s Budget, the Young Entrepreneurs Forum warned that a mooted 2p rise in income tax alongside a [...]
Manufacturers urge government to ‘get growth off the floor’ at Budget November 4, 2025 The manufacturing industry has warned the government to prioritise growth in the Budget as the sector fights back from a year-long downturn in the face of “existential threats.” Manufacturers have faced mounting pressures over the last 12 months as business costs soared in the aftermath of Labour’s first Budget before tariff uncertainty and persistently high [...]