Officials working ‘very hard on ending Russia-Ukraine war’, Trump envoy says August 25, 2025 US president Donald Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg said officials are “working very, very hard” on efforts to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, as a lack of progress fuels doubts about whether a peace settlement could be on the horizon. Mr Kellogg said in Kyiv that officials are “hoping to get to [...]
Business secretary to meet JCB boss after concerns raised about US tariffs August 25, 2025 Jonathan Reynolds will meet the boss of JCB after the company was among those which raised the alarm about the impact of new US tariffs on British businesses. JCB chief executive Graeme Macdonald called on the UK Government to get a “deal done quickly” with the US on steel, after hundreds of British goods became [...]
Hospitality bears brunt of job losses since October budget as costs rocket August 25, 2025 Over half of all job losses in the UK since last October’s budget have been in hospitality as the sector struggles under the weight of rising costs, according to new data. Of the 164,641 job losses in the UK since the Budget last October, almost 89,000 have been lost in hospitality. The scale of job losses [...]
Consumer confidence still a ‘far cry’ from optimism of summer 2024 August 21, 2025 Consumer confidence ticked up slightly in August but remains far below where it was last summer, when Labour was elected in landslide victory. Brits’ expectations over the next three months of their personal financial situation have improved one point to minus six, a seven-point drop from August 2024, according to new figures from the British [...]
Boardroom Uncovered: Can we trust the reviews on Trustpilot? August 20, 2025 Since Trustpilot was founded in 2007 by Peter Holten Mühlmann, the company has set about becoming a household name and, for many, a go-to destination to find out more about what others think of particular companies and experiences. Now, Trustpilot’s CEO has insisted that the reviews site “isn’t perfect” but wants to be “the universal [...]
One in ten London homes would be hit by ‘mansion tax’ August 20, 2025 A tenth of houses in London would be hit by a ‘mansion tax’ on the sale of houses above £1.5m, according to new data. In London, 10.9 per cent of houses are worth over £1.9m, according to Rightmove, compared to just 1.6 per cent of houses outside the capital, with prices ballooning in the last [...]
Rachel Reeves considers ‘mansion tax’ on homes above £1.5m August 20, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is looking at imposing capital gains tax on the sale of houses above £1.5m as she looks to fill a £40bn hole in the public finances. The change, which would likely happen at this year’s Autumn Budget, would see higher-rate taxpayers pay 24 per cent of the value of any gain they [...]
IWG boss labels double-digit share price dive ‘not rational’ August 19, 2025 Shares in International Workspace Group (IWG) dropped more than 15 per cent today after a disappointing half-year trading update from the office provider. It was the worst day for the world’s largest provider of serviced office space since the first day of lockdown in March 2020. But boss Mark Dixon said the share price drop [...]
Great Portland Estates calls in lawyers to investigate culture August 19, 2025 Shares in Great Portland Estates (GPE) have recovered some losses this morning after reports surfaced of a whistleblower complaint about culture at the FTSE 250 office landlord over the weekend. GPE, which has a London office portfolio worth £2.9bn, has since called in lawyers to investigate the allegations in light of the complaint by a [...]
Surging food inflation hits restaurant sales August 19, 2025 Food inflation is accelerating once again, eating into consumers’ pockets and pushing prices higher across the board. Inflation at the grocers hit five per cent in the four weeks ended August 10, down from 5.2 per cent in the previous month but well above the wider UK rate of 3.6 per cent. Real wage growth, [...]
