UK construction crumbles in April as ‘bumpy ride’ continues May 7, 2025 UK construction endured another month of collapsing output in April, new research has suggested, in signs that a turnaround in the sector is still distant. The sector has now seen a decline in output over four consecutive months, according to S&P Global’s newest purchasing managers’ index (PMI). Civil engineering remained the weakest area of construction [...]
Winter fuel payment U-turn not enough to win back support, Labour MPs say May 6, 2025 The government is under increasing pressure from its backbenchers to reverse winter fuel cuts amid warnings that even a U-turn would not go far enough to restore trust with voters. There is talk that senior government officials are reconsidering government’s earlier decision to restrict winter fuel payments to pensioners who qualify for income-related benefits, which [...]
Terry Smith: Reeves must drop tax hikes to attract UK investment May 6, 2025 Star fund manager Terry Smith has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to cancel her tax hikes to make investment in the UK more attractive. Smith, who runs the £20bn Fundsmith Equity fund, argued that to boost the quality of UK companies the government should “reverse a lot of the policies that are in place with [...]
Government signs landmark billion-pound trade deal with India May 6, 2025 Billions of pounds in extra trade could soon flow between India and the UK after the two nations signed a landmark free trade agreement, ending years of protracted negotiations. The deal, which the UK government said was the most “economically significant” free trade agreement signed since Brexit and the “best deal India has ever agreed”, [...]
Natwest to ‘outperform’ sector with bumper year, analysts predict May 6, 2025 RBC analysts slapped a “Sector Outperform” rating on Natwest after the lender beat expectations in its first-quarter report. The analysts upgraded full-year profit before tax estimates by three per cent to £7.1bn, compared to £6.2bn in 2024, and upped the stock’s target price to 475p from 465p. They said the upgrades were driven by net [...]
How to shield your pension from Labour’s inheritance tax raid May 6, 2025 According to new analysis by Quilter, just two per cent of estates subject to inheritance tax (IHT) are currently taking advantage of surplus income gifting to reduce their tax liabilities. Based on freedom of information (FOI) requests carried out by the wealth management firm, just 1,490 estates are currently taking advantage of the rules, but Quilter expects [...]
UK services sent into decline amid ‘market turbulence’ May 6, 2025 UK output was sent into decline by “market turbulence” in April for the first time in one and a half years, prompting fears that Chancellor Reeves’ £40bn tax raid last autumn was damaging the country’s services economy. The services sector, which is seen as the engine behind UK growth, had been on a 17-month winning [...]
Non-dom exodus could cost the Treasury £12.2bn May 6, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to remove tax exemptions for non-doms could lead to “billions” in losses from the public purse, new research has suggested, in a blow to the Treasury’s fiscal plans. Reeves followed through with manifesto pledges by removing tax exemptions from mega-rich non-domiciled individuals at last year’s Autumn Budget, something the Office for [...]
EY: Profit warnings surge points to ‘economic shock’ May 6, 2025 Nearly one in five listed companies have told investors that they expected profits to decline in the past twelve months, new research has suggested, reflecting firms’ vulnerabilities to higher taxes and damaging tariffs. Chancellor Reeves flattered investors in the run-up to last year’s election, calling Labour the “natural party of business”. But a new report [...]
UK scale-ups face crisis as growth capital hits seven-year low May 6, 2025 Growth capital has hit a seven-year low on both volume and value with the UK start-up to scale-up pipeline “broken”, a fresh report has warned. Figures seen by City AM revealed Series A funding – investments of £2m to £10m for startups looking to grow – had slumped to £2.4bn in the 12 months to [...]