Hiring confidence worst in 13 years as businesses brace for further tax hikes July 7, 2025 Appetite for hiring among employers has fallen to lows not seen since 2012, as bosses bring up the drawbridge following bruising hikes to business rates and more tax rises looming at the next Budget. Research from the BDO Business Trends barometer found that firms are “holding back recruitment” despite indications of a summer recovery. Employment [...]
UK becomes ‘most attractive country’ for investment as risk appetite grows July 7, 2025 The UK has risen up the ranks to become the joint top location for investment among CFOs around the world, a new survey has suggested, with financial officers open to taking on greater risks. City leaders and policymakers have widely spoken about their desire to take on bigger gambles to drive returns and improve growth [...]
Get ready for £30bn tax raid, City analysts warn July 5, 2025 Top City economists have warned welfare U-turns and President Trump’s damage to growth prospects will lead to tax hikes worth £30bn this autumn. Chancellor Rachel Reeves suggested last year’s £40bn tax raid on businesses, homeowners and investors was a “once in a parliament reset” while Keir Starmer has suggested the UK could not “tax [its] [...]
Economists urge fiscal discipline after ‘rollercoaster’ week for bond market July 4, 2025 Economists have called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to exercise fiscal discipline after a “rollercoaster” week in the bond market exposed the precarity of the government’s finances. Yields on 10-year gilts briefly rose more than 20 basis points, the highest intraday rise since the ill-fated Liz Truss minibudget in 2022, after Reeves appeared distraught in the [...]
London IPO fundraising slumps to 30 year low July 4, 2025 IPO fundraising has slumped to a 30-year low in London in the latest warning sign on the health of the UK’s capital markets. Just £160m was raised from five listings on the London markets in the first six months of the year, the lowest-first half since 1995, according to data from Dealogic shared with the [...]
Housebuilding boost as stamp duty ‘disruptions’ fade July 4, 2025 Housebuilding stopped the construction sector from crumbling as an increase in residential work in June was recorded for the first time in nine months, fresh data has suggested. S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for construction showed the sector improved slightly from May, with the decline in total business activity at the lowest level since [...]
FTSE 100 pay revolts double as race with US rivals heats up July 4, 2025 Shareholder rebellions against FTSE 100 executives’ bumper paydays more than doubled in the first half of 2025 as companies boosted pay in a battle to compete with US giants. Pay revolts were up 120 per cent in the first six months of the year as the likes of Melrose, British Gas-owner Centrica and Univelever faced [...]
Apollo-backed group makes £5.7bn swoop for Pension Insurance Corporation July 4, 2025 Athora – the European insurance group backed by US private equity giant Apollo – has struck a £5.7bn takeover deal for the UK’s Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC). The acquisition will create a group with combined assets worth near £112m and covering the pensions of more than three million people across Europe. The takeover marks one [...]
How much tax do you pay above £100k? Britain’s highest earners in numbers July 4, 2025 A growing number of Brits have seen their salaries hit £100k – but a growing number are also feeling underwhelmed after having crossed the threshold. What accounts for their disappointment? There were as many as 1.35m taxpayers earning over £100,000 in the UK during the 2022/23 tax year, an increase of around 16 per cent [...]
British banking chiefs take a leaf from Elon Musk’s DOGE July 4, 2025 The chiefs of the UK’s Big Four banks are taking a leaf out of the Elon Musk playbook in their strident bid to slash costs. Natwest’s Paul Thwaite, Lloyds’ Charlie Nunn, HSBC’s Georges Elhedery and Barclays’ CS Venkatkrishnan are in the midst of major cost-cutting endeavours that bear similarities to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency [...]