City Giving Day brings philanthropic flair to the Square Mile September 25, 2025 The City of London swapped suits for spandex, bells, and bingo this week as City Giving Day rolled out across the Square Mile. The annual celebration, now a cornerstone of The Lord Mayor’s Appeal, saw hundreds of firms and thousands of participants engage in activities that blended philanthropy with light-hearted competition. The Lord Mayor launched [...]
Businesses face ‘unprecedented’ political risk ahead of Budget September 23, 2025 UK business leaders are battling an “unprecedented scale” of simmering global tensions which are set to impact profitability, according to a new survey. Concerns have spiked from the beginning of the year, a fresh survey from Beazley has concluded, with 85 per cent of UK business leaders saying political risk is affecting their profitability. This [...]
Government approves £2.2bn Gatwick second runway September 22, 2025 Gatwick Airport’s £2.2 billion second runway plan could create thousands of jobs and help “kickstart the economy”, Rachel Reeves said. In the privately-financed project, the West Sussex airport will move its emergency runway 12 metres north, enabling it to be used for departures of narrow-bodied planes such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s. This will [...]
KPMG: UK taxes to rise steadily to combat mounting public spending pressures September 22, 2025 The UK government faces tough tax choices in the years ahead with mounting public spending pressures versus sluggish economic growth, according to new forecasts. Economists for KPMG said it had been an unexpectedly strong start to 2025 but the second half was looking more uncertain. The accountancy giant is forecasting UK gross domestic product (GDP) [...]
Oxford Street one-day traffic ban is start of ‘fight to rescue street’, mayor says September 21, 2025 The mayor of London has said a one-day trial banning traffic from part of Oxford Street marks “the day the fight back began to rescue this street”. Sir Sadiq Khan visited the street, where vehicles were prohibited from accessing a half-mile stretch of the road from Oxford Circus to Orchard Street between noon and 8pm [...]
Co-op expected to reveal financial hit from cyber attack September 21, 2025 The Co-operative Group is expected to shed light on the impact of a damaging cyber attack in its first financial update since being targeted by hackers. Shoppers were faced with empty shelves and issues with payments during the fallout from the cyber incident in April, as a raft of retailers were hit. On Thursday, the [...]
UK to explore ‘reparations loan’ for Ukraine using frozen Russian assets September 20, 2025 Rachel Reeves will announce plans to explore using frozen Russian assets to fund a “reparations loan” that could provide billions of pounds for Ukraine’s war effort. The Chancellor is expected to make the announcement at a meeting with her European counterparts in Copenhagen on Saturday, saying it is “right to explore all options to support [...]
Le Cordon Bleu London announces winner of record scholarship September 18, 2025 Le Cordon Bleu London awarded its largest-ever scholarship prize last week, marking 130 years since the school was founded. The 2025 Scholarship Competition concluded on Monday with 27-year-old Emma Keenan from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, announced as the overall winner. Keenan impressed judges with her Savoury Choux Ring featuring mushrooms, mascarpone, hazelnut and parmesan craquelin. The [...]
Primark owner says larger stores to come under pressure from rates changes September 15, 2025 The boss of Primark’s parent firm has warned the Government that proposed business rates changes are “mistaken” and heap pressure on big stores on UK high streets. George Weston, the billionaire boss of Associated British Foods (ABF), told the PA new agency that the Labour Government “should not increase taxes on businesses any more” in [...]
Food inflation to spike as suppliers can ‘no longer absorb’ costs, FDF warns September 15, 2025 Food and drink inflation could climb to 5.7% by the end of the year thanks to cost pressures on manufacturers “trickling down” to supermarket shelves, a leading industry body has warned. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said current prices were “steeper than anything in recent decades”. The group – whose members make a quarter [...]
