By: Chris Dorrell

Chris Dorrell is a freelance journalist and City AM contributor. He was previously City AM's banking and then economics reporter. When Chris is not breaking news, he can often be found playing with his band Totally Amorphous.

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UK firms deliberately halting growth to dodge VAT

March 2, 2026

Thousands of businesses are deliberately constraining their growth to remain below the £90,000 threshold at which firms start paying VAT. City accounting firm Lubbock Fine has argued that the government should raise the threshold to £115,000, the level it would be if it had increased in line with inflation since 2017. The VAT threshold was [...]
Defence stocks jump as Iran conflict drives munitions demand

March 2, 2026

European defence stocks rose at the start of the week as investors anticipated that the widening conflict in the Middle East will push up demand for munitions and military hardware. Although the European-wide Stoxx 600 was trading 1.3 per cent lower, many of the continent’s largest weapons manufacturers were comfortably in the green. In the [...]
Service sector profits continue long decline

February 26, 2026

Profitability in the UK’s service sector declined for the seventeenth consecutive rolling quarter, according to new data, with businesses reporting few signs of improvement on the horizon. The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest survey on the service sector showed that rising costs put businesses’ bottom line under pressure. A weighted balance of -28 per [...]
Ratcliffe’s Ineos could sell off assets as chemicals sector struggles

February 25, 2026

Ineos is reportedly considering selling off parts of its business, as the chemicals giant attempts to shore up its finances amid a wider industry downturn. The firm founded and chaired by Jim Ratcliffe has held preliminary talks about selling off parts of its vinyls business Inovyn, Europe’s largest producer of PVC, a plastic widely used [...]
UK has ‘done little to diverge’ from Europe since Brexit

February 24, 2026

The UK has “done little to diverge” with the European Union on regulation since Brexit, a new report suggests, but that has not stopped the bloc’s own legislation increasing divergence between the two jurisdictions. Across a swathe of issues, analysts at UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE) said the UK had cleaved much closer to [...]
FCA: We don’t want to take risk decisions alone

February 24, 2026

The City watchdog should not be determining the UK’s risk appetite “alone”, a top official has said, as the regulator continues to try and coax more guidance from the government on its growth push. Sarah Pritchard, the deputy chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said the regulator was trying to “prompt” a wider [...]
Economy bogged down by low-performing firms

February 23, 2026

The UK economy is suffering from an ever-lengthening tail of low productivity businesses, according to a new report from BCG. Between 1997 and 2023, the number of firms below the 25th productivity percentile nearly doubled, rising from 444,500 to 873,000, while the total number of firms increased by 70 per cent. At the other end [...]
Former Amazon boss to keep CMA chair

February 23, 2026

Doug Gurr has been confirmed as the government’s preferred candidate to continue in the role of chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Gurr, a former boss of Amazon UK, was parachuted into the role on an interim basis last January, but will now complete a full five-year term. Business Secretary Peter Kyle said [...]
This working farm is Devon’s most luxurious new hotel

February 23, 2026

Fancy farm retreats have become all the rage, helping urbanites reconnect to the land in luxury. Fowlescombe Farm, a regenerative farm in south Devon, adds to this list in style. The hotel, which opened last May, pulls off an impressive balancing act. It is at once luxurious and low-key. Both homely and stately. Located about [...]
New regulations for pedicabs to curb ‘rip-off’ fares

February 18, 2026

Pedicabs will be barred from blasting bangers and charging “rip-off” fares under new rules which will mean rickshaws in the capital face regulations for the first time. Under new rules proposed by Transport for London (TfL), drivers will be required to have a full driving license, pass enhanced criminal checks, and meet English language requirements [...]

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By: Chris Dorrell

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