Bolt sends £200m warning to Reeves ahead of Uber VAT ruling March 21, 2025 Ride-hailer Bolt has sent a stern warning to Rachel Reeves over government inaction on a possible 20 per cent VAT hike for taxi firms. City AM understands the mobility firm has written to the Chancellor warning it has withheld £200m of investment in the UK over the last three years as ministers dither over the [...]
Inheritance tax receipts reach record high March 21, 2025 Inheritance tax receipts totalled £7.6bn in the last 11 months, a record high and surpassing last year’s full-year total of £7.5bn. Data from HMRC revealed today that the amount paid in tax was an 11.8 per cent increase from the same period last year. “It may only affect a small percentage of estates, but that [...]
UK ambassadors to have growth ‘KPIs’, foreign secretary tells trade summit March 21, 2025 The UK’s ambassadors will have “KPIs that contribute to our economic growth” as diplomats shift to a more economic mindset, the foreign secretary has said. David Lammy told an audience of businesses that he wants the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to become the “international delivery arm of the government’s missions, the first of [...]
Consumer confidence ticks up but ‘little evidence’ of recovery March 21, 2025 Consumer confidence rose by one point in March as Brits became more pessimistic about their own finances but more optimistic about the UK’s. The overall effect was to push confidence up to -19 in March, from -20 in February and -21 in March last year. The index remained below its long-term average. “If consumer confidence [...]
Ukraine peacekeeping talks reaching ‘military plan’ stage, says Starmer March 20, 2025 Talks on the Ukraine peacekeeping force are reaching the stage of a “military plan” aimed at “keeping the skies safe”, Sir Keir Starmer has said. The Prime Minister has said the “timetable now is coming into focus”, and that if a deal comes to fruition, the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ needs to be ready [...]
Stifel flags disclosure concerns from private equity trust March 20, 2025 Investment bank Stifel has flagged disclosure concerns in a private equity trust that has cut back on the level of detail it provides around its loans. While examining HgCapital Trust’s recent report and accounts, Stifel analysts claimed that there was less disclosure and commentary around debt in the fund than there had been a year [...]
Analysts upgrade Schroders stock amid cost-cutting drive March 20, 2025 RBC analysts have upgraded their Schroders’ stock price target after accounting for the group’s recently announced cost-cutting drive. Analysts at the bank upgraded Schroders’ target price from 395p to 475p, while it is currently trading at 379p, having surged 17 per cent since the start of 2025. The cost-cutting plan came as Schroders issued its [...]
Politics ‘not show business’, Badenoch warns at Tory local elections launch March 20, 2025 The Conservatives are facing an “extremely difficult” challenge in May’s local elections, Kemi Badenoch warned as she launched the party’s campaign to win town halls. The Tory leader was also defiant about the threat her party faces from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, urging voters to remember politics is not “show business” and that “you will [...]
FCA fines London Metal Exchange £9.2m over 2022 nickel volatility March 20, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority handed a landmark £9.2m fine to the London Metal Exchange after it failed to prevent extreme volatility in the nickel market in March 2022. In its first ever enforcement action against an investment exchange, the FCA criticised the exchange’s systems and controls that did not ensure “orderly trading under conditions of [...]
Norwegian oil fund buys a quarter of Covent Garden from Shaftesbury March 20, 2025 Shaftesbury Capital has sold a quarter of Covent Garden to Norwegian oil fund Norges for £570m in the latest bet by Noway’s sovereign wealth fund on the capital. Under the terms of the contract, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) will buy a 25 per cent non-controlling stake in the £2.7bn Covent Garden estate, which Shaftesbury [...]
