Firms scramble to ‘protect bottom line’ amid low growth April 16, 2025 Firms across the UK are putting in “hard work” to limit cost pressures and maintain profits amid low growth, one of the country’s biggest banks has said. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s aggressive tax hikes at her last Autumn Budget have piled higher employment costs on businesses large and small, threatening to kill off some companies by [...]
Should employers brace for the arrival of Banter Police? April 16, 2025 On his first day in office following Labour’s election victory last summer, Keir Starmer promised to provide the country with “a politics that treads a little lighter on all of our lives.” In hindsight, this seductive proposition could mean different things to different people. At the time, I optimistically took it as a promise to [...]
British Steel: Reynolds would view Chinese firms in ‘different way’ April 15, 2025 Jonathan Reynolds has said he would “look at a Chinese firm in a different way” from those of other nations on involvement in the UK steel industry. But the business secretary has insisted the UK government took control of British Steel because of “one specific company”, and did not rule out Chinese firms being involved [...]
Are private markets approaching a tipping point? April 15, 2025 As money continues to pour into private markets, concerns are mounting that the sector is expanding too fast in an unfriendly environment. In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in private markets, with fundraising doubling over the last decade, leading to $13.1 trillion (£9.9 trillion) in assets under management across the sector. [...]
Inflation expected to ease slightly in March amid uncertain future April 15, 2025 Inflation in the month to March is expected to remain well above the Bank of England’s target rate of two per cent, putting policymakers in an awkward position ahead of a potential interest rate cut in May. A Bloomberg poll of economists said that consumer price inflation (CPI) on a year-on-year basis will hit 2.7 [...]
Trainline has ‘growth potential’ despite national rival, says UBS April 15, 2025 Trainline will continue to grow despite concerns surrounding the government’s rail policy, according to UBS. Plans for a rival national rail ticket website have caused shares in Trainline to dip more than 30 per cent this year to date – despite continuing strong demand. UBS said that although “market concerns” remained, recent data indicated “continued [...]
EU reset: Government face backlash on meat and dairy regulatory alignment April 15, 2025 The government is facing a backlash over reported plans to align with EU regulations on meat and dairy products. UK officials have suggested to European Union (EU) counterparts that Britain could be willing to accept alignment with EU rules on fresh meat and dairy, and to accept oversight of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), [...]
Small firm owners are leaving the UK en masse, survey finds April 15, 2025 Small business owners up and down the country are packing their bags to escape a flurry of higher taxes, soaring costs and red tape, fresh data has found. Nearly two in five owners of small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) have either left the UK or are considering an imminent departure, according to a new survey, [...]
UK employers cut jobs as tax hikes bite April 15, 2025 High wage growth persisted in the three months to February, official data has shown, but a rapid drop in payrolled employment pointed to concerning trends in the labour market. Annual growth in average weekly earnings excluding bonuses hit 5.9 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Tuesday. But separate tax data showed [...]
B&M: Poor UK sales weigh on earnings for bargain retailer April 15, 2025 Discount retailer B&M expects full-year earnings to fall year on year as poor UK sales weigh on overall company performance. However, the company told markets this morning that it expects to report earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) above the midpoint of its £605m-£625m guidance range. The firm lowered its expected full-year EBITDA [...]