Frasers Group chairman urges Unite to avoid ‘reckless’ strike October 3, 2025 The chairman of retail giant Frasers Group has urged Unite the Union to avoid “reckless and irresponsible” strike action as retail firms across the UK feel the crunch of rising cost pressures. Sir Jonathan Thompson, who took the role of Chair in September, has asked the Union’s General Secretary Sharon Graham to reconsider plans to [...]
‘Subdued’ services sector suffers steep drop as tax hikes bite October 3, 2025 Business activity expansion fell to a five-month low after a “subdued” services sector experienced a dull end to the third quarter. S&P’s UK Services Purchasing Managers Index Business Activity tumbled to 50.8 in September, falling steeply from the 16-month high of 54.2 secured in August. “This summer’s acceleration in output growth is now looking like [...]
OBR hands Rachel Reeves first damning pre-Budget report on UK economy October 3, 2025 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has handed Chancellor Rachel Reeves its first evaluation of the state of the UK economy and crippled public finances, setting policy discussions about likely £30bn tax rises and possible savings in motion. The OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee, which consists of the economists Richard Hughes, David Miles and Tom Josephs, [...]
Retail investors put increasing trust in AI to build their portfolio October 2, 2025 UK retail investors are putting increasing amounts of trust in AI tools to build their investment portfolio, believing it is able to make more informed decisions. According to the latest report from investment platform eToro, the number of investors using AI tools has increased by 45 per cent over the last year. Of the investors [...]
Thames Water creditors offer £4bn debt write-off October 2, 2025 Creditors of Thames Water have made a rescue offer for the failing company by allowing a £4bn write-off of their debt in return for changed targets on pollution incidents. The deal would see 25 per cent of Thames Water’s debt written off but the group, under the consortium London & Valley Water, would see regulators [...]
‘Grotesquely unfair’: 700,000 Brits caught in 60 per cent tax trap October 2, 2025 There are growing calls for the government to overhaul tax rules for top earners after fresh data obtained by City AM revealed just under 700,000 Brits are now caught in the so-called 60 per cent tax trap. Another 74,000 taxpayers were added to the punitive £100,000-£125,000 income bracket during the 2024/25 tax year, according to [...]
Investment platform Freetrade looks to shake up the mutual funds market October 2, 2025 Investment platform Freetrade has expanded its fund range, marking the first serious push by a UK neobroker into the mutual funds market, City AM can reveal. The platform is adding over 300 funds initially to its platform, offering choices across strategies and asset classes for UK retail investors, with more set to follow shortly. It [...]
Rachel Reeves plots stamp duty exemption for newly listed shares October 2, 2025 There are growing hopes for a revival for London’s moribund IPO market after reports chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing to unveil a stamp duty exemption on shares of newly-listed companies. The move, which is set to be announced at the forthcoming Budget in November, would remove the 0.5 per cent tax charge on the buying [...]
Remove windfall taxes on North Sea oil, bosses tell Rachel Reeves October 2, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves should abolish windfall taxes on oil and gas producers in the North Sea, top bosses have said. In a new report setting out UK businesses’ proposals for the Budget, the Chancellor has been urged to focus on cutting energy costs for firms and set out a clearer plan for the North Sea’s [...]
Labour is in denial about the economy October 2, 2025 The recent Labour conference as an exercise in denial, revealing a party plagued by internal divisions and lacking a coherent economic plan, says Helen Thomas As the Labour conference drew to a close, one word dominated the mood: denial. Denial of the scale of Britain’s economic challenges. Denial of the fault lines within the party [...]