Inheritance tax brought in nearly £600m a month, as experts warn that frozen threshold is punishing taxpayers February 21, 2023 Inheritance tax (IHT)receipts for January 2023 totalled £578m up from £443m in the same month a year ago, according to HMRC figures. It takes the total inheritance tax take for the 2022-23 Financial Year to date to £5.9 billion, £853 million higher than through the same period last year. The total IHT take for 2021-22 [...]
Hold the ketchup: UK supermarkets facing tomato shortage February 21, 2023 UK supermarkets are facing a tomato shortage after bad weather in Europe and Africa disrupted supplies. Shoppers across the country have been sharing their frustration on social media after being unable to find tomatoes at their local stores. Growers and suppliers in Morocco have had to contend with cold temperatures, heavy rain, flooding and cancelled [...]
BHP profits dive £2.6bn as world’s largest miner falls victim to China’s pandemic restrictions February 21, 2023 BHP has suffered a heavy decline in profits, following pandemic restrictions in China and reduced demand for iron ore.
Brits flocked back to hotels in post Covid rebound as Holiday Inn owner’s revenue up 34 per cent February 21, 2023 Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group experienced a strong post-pandemic rebound, with revenues up 34 per cent in 2022 as consumer demand for hotels soared. The group, which has over 50 hotels across London, posted total revenues of $3.bn (£3.22bn) in the year ending December 2022, up 34 per cent from $2.90bn (£2.41bn) in the [...]
The Notebook: John O’Connell on corporation tax, rail subsidies, and dangerous books February 21, 2023 The Notebook is where interesting people say interesting things. Today, it’s John O’Connell, the chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, who riffs on corporation tax, 4.99 per cent council tax hikes and the books that have a little more spice than they used to The economy is doing slightly better than expected. Which, to be [...]
Brewdog’s China deal shows the limits of ESG virtue-signalling February 21, 2023 O, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to make commercial hay from a human rights campaign, as Walter Scott very nearly wrote. Brewdog are the latest example of a brand which has made much of its holier than thou culture – only to ditch it in full when the reward is [...]
Let the payouts commence: As HSBC profits top £4.3bn, banking giant looks likely to appease Asian shareholders February 21, 2023 HSBC promised large payouts in 2023 to appease activist shareholder Ping An after comfortably beating market expectations in the final quarter of 2022. HSBC’s pretax profit for the final quarter nearly doubled to $5.2bn (4.3bn), beating market expectations of $5bn. This brought the bank’s total profit for 2022 to $17.5bn, seven per cent lower than [...]
Brexit: City’s top man says firms grew ‘complacent’ prior to split from EU February 21, 2023 The Lord Mayor has said British businesses got “complacent” prior to Brexit – and will now need to work harder to develop relationships across the world. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of a trip to Australia this week, Nicholas Lyons said there would need to be an “enormous step up from [...]
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine costs Brits an extra £1,000 in higher bills, data reveals February 21, 2023 Higher gas prices in the year has cost the average Brit £1,000 in the year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to ECIU.
London leads the way: SME confidence rebounds to nine month high after 50,000 firms folded last year February 21, 2023 Confidence among small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) continues to grow across the UK, with London leading the way, new data out today showed. 60 per cent of respondents in the capital expect their revenue to grow this quarter while they intend to make 12 new hires this quarter, according to Barclays SME Barometer. London is [...]
