Retail body warns against tax hikes amid ‘nightmare’ inflation September 30, 2025 Britain’s largest retail business group has warned the Treasury that further tax hikes on businesses will keep shop prices “higher for longer”, after data showed food inflation in September remained at its highest levels since the height of the cost-of-living crisis. British Retail Consortium (BRC) chief executive Helen Dickinson said even if the Chancellor chooses [...]
Why graduates face a brutal jobs market September 26, 2025 While students flung mortar boards in the air after receiving their degrees, not everyone had cause to celebrate. Graduation was supposed to be the golden ticket to a dream career: get a good degree at a good university, and jobs at professional service firms, banks and consultancies would be there for the taking. For many [...]
Pizza Express slices value by over £40m as sales slide September 25, 2025 Pizza Express slashed its value by more than £40m in 2024, it has been revealed, as its sales also dipped. The restaurant chain’s pre-tax losses went from £7.9m to £40.7m while new accounts filed with Companies House also show its revenue slipped from £454.5m to £442.1m over the same period. In the UK and Ireland, [...]
Will the Labour party survive its conference? September 25, 2025 The left, just like the right, is a broad but unhappy church – will its internal rifts reach breaking point at Labour’s upcoming conference in Liverpool? Asks Helen Thomas This Sunday, Liverpool plays host to the Labour Party conference, where the party’s competing wings will jostle under the harsh glare of the government spotlight. Just [...]
Top retail boss warns UK heading into recession September 24, 2025 The boss of AO World has warned that inflation, new red tape around hiring and higher taxes are quickly pushing the UK into a recession. “We’ve lived through a few recessions in the last 25 years – I think we’re heading into another one,” founder and CEO of AO World, John Roberts, told the BBC. [...]
Generation ‘locked out of home ownership’ in UK housing crisis September 24, 2025 The ‘stark’ affordability crisis facing Britain’s would-be homeowners is locking a generation out of the market, according to a new report. The research – created by Skipton Building Society in partnership with Oxford Economics – finds 98 per cent of adults living with their parents cannot afford to buy a house in their local area. [...]
Moët & Chandon: Sales slump by £25m at champagne owner September 24, 2025 UK sales at the owner of champagne label Moët & Chandon slumped by £25m during its latest financial year amid “difficult trading conditions”, it has been revealed. Moët Hennessy UK has reported a turnover of £267.1m for 2024, down from the £292.7m it achieved in 2023. The business said its fall in sales was “In [...]
Rick Stein’s restaurant group serves up losses as jobs cut September 24, 2025 Rick Stein’s restaurant group served up higher losses in 2024 amid falling sales and job cuts, it has been revealed. Spread across three companies, each entity recorded a lower turnover and widening pre-tax losses for 2024 compared to 2023. The Stein Group includes twelve restaurants, a cookery school in Padstow and a meal kits business. [...]
Rachel Reeves urged to reconsider Labour manifesto tax pledges September 24, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned that tweaking small levies and relying on the wealthy to contribute to the state would hinder growth as another prominent report has called for Labour manifesto commitments to be reversed. In a report by the Institute for Government (IfG), Labour strategists were criticised for the party’s “original sin” of [...]
Brits forced to raid savings in order to cope with financial uncertainty September 23, 2025 The strain of the cost of living crisis combined with ongoing wider economic problems has forced Brits to change both their spending and savings habits in order to remain financially stable. According to the latest survey from St James’s Place, 18 per cent of 8,000 respondents have had to dip into their savings, while 41 [...]