Halma: FTSE 100 giant books record revenue and ups dividend June 12, 2025 Safety and equipment maker Halma notched a record year after its diversified business model powered growth across sectors amid a tough global backdrop. The 130-year-old FTSE 100 firm recorded an 11 per cent jump in revenue to £2.2bn, which came after the business’s revenue for the first six months of the financial year topped £1bn for the first [...]
Our economy remains in a perilous state June 12, 2025 With the long-awaited Spending Review, the UK Chancellor finally gets to reveal the goodies rather than simply be the baddie. But there will be one question lurking behind every line item, behind every pound pledged and every Treasury footnote: how are you going to pay for it?
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang: ‘Praise and promise are useless’ without UK AI infrastructure June 12, 2025 “Praise and promise are completely useless” without AI infrastructure, Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, told City AM when asked about the effusive comments he made on Britain’s AI capabilities just a couple of days prior. At London Tech Week on Monday, the tech heavyweight dubbed ‘AI godfather’ lauded the UK’s AI talent, but flagged a critical lack [...]
UK economy shrinks more than expected in blow to Reeves June 12, 2025 The UK economy shrank more than expected in April, official data has shown, suggesting momentum built up in the beginning of this year has already worn away. New figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing a 0.3 per cent contraction come off the back of a strong 0.7 per cent growth in [...]
Tesco: Supermarket giant widens market share amid price war June 12, 2025 Supermarket juggernaut Tesco delivered an upbeat trading statement for the first three months of the year as the price war in the competitive UK grocery market rumbled on. Food sales at the grocer were up 5.9 per cent year-on-year led by a strong performance in fresh food. Meanwhile, non-food sales climbed 6.2 per cent after [...]
Brits to spend half a year waiting for Tax Freedom Day after Labour tax hikes June 12, 2025 Tax Freedom Day is set to be on the latest ever date within a matter of years, fresh research has revealed, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves showing no signs of cutting taxes in the near future, given inflated spending. Reeves unveiled billions more cash to be injected into several departments at yesterday’s Spending Review while funding [...]
Bargain Britain: UK firms under siege by foreign takeovers June 12, 2025 The London Stock Exchange has suffered a bruising week as private equity firms and foreign giants continue to snap up British bargains. Markets were hit with a double blow on Wednesday after Canadian consultancy giant acquired engineering firm Ricardo and KKR returned with a final bid for GP Landlord Assura. Assura has recommended a cash [...]
Reeves’ spending spree could open £20bn gap – which taxes will rise? June 12, 2025 Rachel Reeves splashed the taxpayer cash in her inaugural Spending Review, raising expectations the Chancellor may be coming back for more tax revenue in the Autumn if her growth ambitions are not met. Reeves is set to hand out an extra £190bn in government spending over the course of the parliament, in what she described [...]
Spending review: Labour’s economy is austerity for the taxpayer June 11, 2025 'Austerity' isn’t just about reducing public expenditure – it also applies to tax hikes, writes John O'Connell following the Spending Review.
Only roaring growth can save Reeves, and the country June 11, 2025 The Chancellor had been speaking for about five minutes when it dawned on me that she wasn’t going to say anything interesting. By the time she got to discussing the finer points of Southport’s pier and Kirkcaldy’s high street, I’d moved on to other things. That’s not to say that the Spending Review wasn’t interesting, [...]